HAVE BEEN, SO DOES THIS MEAN THIS BIG ONE'S COMING? AND WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT IT?

HEY GUYS THIS IS ANNIE FOR DNEWS.

A MAJOR EARTHQUAKE STRUCK OFF THE COAST OF CHILE THIS WEEK, TRIGGERING 7 FT TSUNAMIS

AND MASS EVACUATIONS ALONG THE COUNTRY'S COASTAL AREAS.

THE 8.2 QUAKE NEAR CHILE COMES ON THE HEELS OF SEVERAL SMALLER QUAKES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

RECENTLY...BROUGHT TO LIFE BY THIS ONE AMAZING VIRAL VIDEO OF TWO NEWS ANCHORS FROM KTLA

BASICALLY NAILING EARTHQUAKE SAFETY PROTOCOL...

okay... it appears to have stopped... um, we're gonna jump right now to the uh...

FORTUNATELY, NO MAJOR DAMAGE IN EITHER CALIFORNIA OR CHILE IS REPORTED AT THIS POINT...BUT IT'S

RAISED ALARM AMONG SOME FOLKS THAT A "BIG ONE" IS COMING....A "BIG ONE" LIKE THE LA

NORTHRIDGE QUAKE IN 1994, WHICH KILLED DOZENS AND CAUSED 42 BILLION DOLLARS IN DAMAGE...OR

LOMA PRIETA IN SAN FRANCISCO IN 1989, WHICH KILLED 63 AND BADLY EFFED UP INFRASTRUCTURE

IN THE BAY AREA. OF COURSE, THERE HAVE BEEN FAR WORSE QUAKES IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

- LIKE THE 2010 QUAKE THAT DEVASTATED HAITI.

CAN WE PREDICT WHEN MAJOR QUAKES WILL HAPPEN? UNFORTUNATELY AT THIS POINT, ONLY VERY VERY

GENERALLY.

QUAKES ARE CAUSED BY SHIFTING TECTONIC PLATES, AND THE AREAS MOST AT RISK ARE PLACES THAT

SIT ALONG THESE FAULT LINES. BUT THAT RISK CAN BE AGGRAVATED BY MAN-MADE FACTORS THAT

CAN EXERT EXTRA PRESSURE ON NATURALLY OCCURRING SEISMIC ACTIVITY. THE BEST KNOWN EXAMPLE OF

THIS IS THE Sichuan PROVINCE OF CHINA, WHICH HAD A MAJOR QUAKE IN 2008 THAT'S BELIEVED

TO HAVE BEEN TRIGGERED IN PART BY A DAM IN THE AREA. BECAUSE OF THE MANY POTENTIAL TRIGGERS

- WHICH COULD INCLUDE ANYTHING FROM RESERVOIRS, MINING OR FRACKING - SCIENTISTS CAN IDENTIFY

PARTS OF THE WORLD THAT ARE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE A QUAKE, BUT CAN'T SAY WHEN THEY WILL HAPPEN

WITH ANY USEFUL LEVEL OF ACCURACY.

IN FACT, ANIMALS MIGHT BE MUCH BETTER AT SENSING QUAKES THAN HUMANS. JUST BEFORE A 2009 QUAKE

IN ITALY FOR EXAMPLE, 96% OF MALE TOADS DITCHED THEIR BREEDING SITE IN THE AREA JUST DAYS

BEFORE THE QUAKE.

BUT CAN WE PREPARE FOR AN EARTHQUAKE...SURE.

IN PLACES LIKE CALIFORNIA OR CHILE THAT BASICALLY SIT ON ACTIVE FAULTS, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS HAVE

GOTTEN BETTER AT PREPPING INFRASTRUCTURE - AND PEOPLE - FOR MAJOR JOLTS. IN THE BAY AREA

FOR EXAMPLE, ENGINEERS SPENT YEARS RETROFITTING THE BAY BRIDGE TO OAKLAND WITH ADDITIONAL

DIAGONALS AND OTHER FEATURES THAT CAN HELP CUSHION AGAINST THE SIDE TO SIDE ROCKING THAT

CAN CAUSE FAILURE.

BUT NO MATTER WHERE YOU LIVE, YOU SHOULD KNOW WHAT NOT TO DO IN THE EVENT OF A QUAKE. FEEL

FREE TO MILDLY FREAK OUT - LIKE OUR NEWS ANCHOR FRIENDS - BUT PLEASE RESIST THE URGE TO RUN

SCREAMING INTO THE STREET DURING AN EARTHQUAKE, AS OUR INTERN KENNY KINDLY DEMONSTRATES FOR

US HERE. YOU'RE MORE LIKELY TO GET HIT WITH FALLING OBJECTS THAT CAN HARM YOU THAT WAY.

YOUR BEST BET IS TO DUCK AND COVER UNDER A DESK OR TABLE, OR STAND IN A DOORWAY. IF YOU'RE

OUTSIDE, GET OUT IN THE OPEN AWAY FROM POWER LINES OR OTHER THINGS THAT COULD FALL ON YOU.

AND AS WITH ANY POTENTIAL EMERGENCY, IT CAN'T HURT TO HAVE SOME BASIC SUPPLIES AROUND YOUR

HOME IN THE EVENT OF POWER FAILURE. IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, WE'LL LEAVE SOME OTHER RESOURCES

IN THE LINKS BELOW.

HAVE YOU LIVED THROUGH AN EARTHQUAKE OR OTHER DISASTER? IF SO I'D LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR

EXPERIENCE. YOU CAN GET IN TOUCH WITH THE SHOW ON TWITTER AT DNEWS OR ON FACEBOOK AT

DISCOVERY NEWS. YOU CAN ALSO FIND ME PERSONALLY AT ANNIEGAUS ON TWITTER AND AT MY OTHER SHOW,

WHATS THE BIG DEAL.

THANKS FOR WATCHING AND SEE YOU NEXT TIME.