Haiti Disaster Renews Fears Of Major Earthquake In Southern California

PALM SPRINGS, CA - JANUARY 16: Groves of native palm trees dot the southern San Andreas earthquake fault which forces water to the surface, forming a string of desert oases in unlikely places, on January 16, 2010 northeast of Palm Springs, California. The January 12 magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Haiti suggests that the record-breaking earthquake could strike at any time on this section of the San Andreas Fault. Scientific consensus states a 99.7 percent chance that a magnitude 6.7 quake or larger will strike by 2037 on the southern portion of the 800-mile-long San Andreas Fault, east of Los Angeles. This section of the fault has had very little slippage for more than 300 years and has built up immense pressure that could touch off a significant earthquake at any time, according to seismologists. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)