What would happen if a 8.0 earthquake hit los angeles…would houses be safe enough?
No there would be major devastation of the entire area. An 8 or greater is considered a “Great earthquake and can cause serious damage in areas several hundred kilometers across.” However, the magnitude of the earthquake is not the total story about earthquakes. The Richter Scale is not used to express damage. An earthquake in a densely populated area which results in many deaths and considerable damage may have the same magnitude as a shock in a remote area that does nothing more than frighten the wildlife. Large-magnitude earthquakes that occur beneath the oceans may not even be felt by humans.
The reality is that even a 6 to a 7 magnitude earthquake would, if it hit at the right time and place, could cause extensive damage. The most recent real threats are earthquakes caused by blind thrust faults that lie beneath the LA basin. These fault don’t even have a surface expression like the San Andreas or the Newport-Inglewood fault’s. So unless they rupture, no one really knows they are there. The Northridge quake in 95 was on a blind thrust and it was only about 7 on the richter scale. Most houses would be safe. Its the contents that will break and all those brick walls between the houses will crack and fall. My folks house fared well, but we lost lots of glass, china, and breakables.
