Things are certainly getting shaky around the so-called Ring of Fire that surrounds the Pacific.
There was a major earthquake this morning in the Gulf of Alaska southeast of Kodiak. The quake, 7.9 on the Richter scale occurred near the fault line between the Pacific and North American tectonic plates. Meanwhile, there are two volcanoes spewing ash and lava in the eastern Pacific, Mount Kusatsu Shirane in Japan and Mount Mayon in the Philippines.
It may be unlikely to happen again, but at least one reputable news source is pointing out that the catastrophic eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980 was triggered by a much smaller earthquake than the one that struck today.
I have said for years that a major earthquake in California is overdue, and I am not alone in that opinion.
David Galloway, a seismologist at the British Geological Survey, studies earthquakes all over the globe. He says that it is only a matter of time before a big one strikes again
"We expect a big one to happen in Japan and another one in California. Stress has been building up over the years," he explained.
"it's like pulling an elastic band. If you keep pulling it, it will snap."
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