Do Recent Foreign Quakes Mean They’ll Happen Here Soon?

It’s been proven that an earthquake in one place can "trigger" a quake on the other side of the planet. This helps scientists who study earthquakes predict when and where the next one will hit (NOTE: Subscribers can still listen to this show).

Actually it’s already happened: The 8.6-magnitude earthquake that hit off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia on April 11 was followed by several smaller earthquakes along the west coast of North America.

And earthquakes don’t have to be on the same fault line for one to set off another one–quakes also send surface waves over long distances. In LiveScience, Stephanie Pappas quotes seismologist John Vidale as saying, "My guess is that the shaking was strong enough to actually trigger a little bit of activity."

Pappas quotes geophysicist Aaron Velasco as saying, "The Earth is in constant motion. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s unusual, but we will definitely be looking at these earthquakes to see if there’s any link between them."

Thank goodness Nashville, Tennessee isn’t earthquake-prone! In fact, it’s so lovely there (and it’s a great central location too) that we hold our annual Dreamland Festival there every year. And THIS YEAR, we’re almost sold out, so if you want to join in the fun (and hear some GREAT INFORMATION), get your tickets today!