Danger watch

San Andreas fault 'set for huge quake' | | The Australian

"The observed strain rates confirm that the southern section of the San Andreas fault may be approaching the end of the interseismic phase of the earthquake cycle," he wrote in Nature.

A sudden lateral movement of seven to 10 metres would be among the largest ever recorded.

According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake that destroyed San Francisco in 1906 was produced by a sudden movement of the northern end of the fault of up to 6.4 metres.