The discussion turns to the Hayward Fault in California, where creep meters have registered a 2,000-percent surge in soil displacement, and the emerging science of cascade theory, where one earthquake triggers the next in a devastating zipper effect. Watson reveals that top seismologists are quietly discussing the previously unthinkable scenario they call "M God-Awful," a mega-quake along the San Andreas. Art opens phone lines restricted to Alaska and successfully reaches callers from Kodiak Island and the Fox Islands chain who felt the shaking firsthand.
Open lines bring passionate discussions on white supremacist ideology masquerading as Christianity, the devastating Alaska wildfires consuming thousands of acres near Anchorage, and Art's heartfelt advice to an aspiring young broadcaster about staying true to founding principles.
Key Moments
Andreanof M7.9 strike: Pacific plate going under North American: Watson breaks the news that the USGS and Harvard have just upgraded the Aleutian quake's moment magnitude to 7.9, locating it in the Andreanof Islands at the Pacific/North American subduction zone - putting it among the largest events globally for the year.
Historical context: 1957 M9.1, 1964 M9.2, 1960 Chile M9.6: Watson places the Andreanof event in the all-time record by ranking the three biggest 20th-century quakes: the 1957 Great Aleutian (M9.1), the 1964 Great Alaska (M9.2), and the 1960 Great Chilean (M9.6).
1995 record: 192-plus M6+ quakes, June already at 8 in 10 days: Watson rattles off Seismowatch's 1996 monthly counts of M6.0-plus events (Jan 10, Feb 20, Mar 15, Apr 7, May 7, June 8 in ten days) and notes 1995 set the all-time annual record at 192 M6-plus quakes - evidence the planet is on an upswing.
Hayward Fault creep meter surge: 17cm, 2000% over normal: Watson confirms a creep-meter near South Fremont showed roughly 17 centimeters of slip over two to three weeks - about 2,000 percent above normal - and notes USGS seismologists believe the Loma Prieta strain shadow protecting the Hayward Fault may have lifted, fracturing a water line in the process.
Aleutians caller: Alaska Tsunami Warning Center alert came and went: A caller from Umnak in the Fox Islands tells Bell he was woken by a 'good shaker' and that the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center issued a major warning the night before, then quietly canceled it - a rare first-hand Aleutian dispatch on Coast to Coast.