SEE THE SIMULATION: There's a monster sleeping in Southern California and when it wakes, there will be hell to pay

California is overdue for massive quake.

Earthquakes are making the news, not because they're happening, but because they will happen soon, and they will be more violent than anything in recent memory. Great quakes threaten both the Eastern U.S. and the Pacific coast. Now a new revelation about the San Andreas fault has millions worried that they're living near a bigger ticking time bomb than previously believed.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) - Californians have known about "The Big One" since the 1980s. Sooner or later, the San Andreas fault will rip in two, moving by yards over the space a several minutes. And places like Los Angeles will suffer severe shaking that could shatter skyscrapers and collapse overpasses.

In 1994, an eight second earthquake registering 6.7 on the moment magnitude scale, collapsed the Freeway 14 overpass just north of Los Angeles. Following the shaking, motorcycle cop Clarence W. Dean got dressed and began speeding to work on his patrol bike, lights flashing. In the predawn darkness, he did not see the collapsed road in front of him until it was too late. After flying 70 feet on his bike, he was dead.

The images of the collapsed overpass and a pancaked apartment building were burned into the minds of all Californians. Following the quake, the state legislature ramped up plans to improve California's earthquake safety which included retrofitting all freeway overpasses and many buildings across the state. Money was invested to develop an early warning system to give Californians a few seconds warning before shaking starts.

Watch seismic waves ripple across California in this simulation.

With the retrofits now a distant memory and California being quiet for the time, most have gone about their lives, enjoying the sunshine and weather and forgetting that beneath their feet lurks a monster. Most Californians are unaware than an early warning system is in development. The state is now investing in a high speed rail project that in a decade or so will see bullet trains traversing the state from San Francisco to Los Angeles. It's a nice time to live in California.

But within the space of a few minutes, California can turn into hell. The Big One will almost certainly feature a rupture in the ground that runs for miles as the North American Plate lurches past the Pacific Plate by tens of feet. The shaking will ripple outwards, will be felt as far away as Northern California, Reno and Arizona, and in places like Los Angeles, the tremors could last for two or three minutes.

Watch another simulation from the northern end of the San Andreas.

Within that span of time, electricity, water and sewer lines will rupture. It will take months of around-the-clock labor to fully repair these systems. If the quake strikes during the day. Millions of cars will be trapped in gridlock, hundreds of thousands may be abandoned. With freeways clogged, it will take days for relief to arrive in all parts of the city. In the meantime, hungry civilians who never prepared, will riot and storm markets for food. Disease could break out, depending on sanitation.

 It will take months for life to return to normal, possibly years. The state, and the survivors, will be changed forever.

According to scientists, the San Andreas fault is "locked, loaded, and ready to roll." Several sections of the fault have not moved in a very long time, making them overdue for major activity. The southern portion of the fault, running roughly from Monterrey to the Salton Sea, has been locked for nearly 160 years, and according to records, is well overdue for a quake.

But scientists can't predict exactly when a major quake will strike. Instead, they can only look at averages and probabilities. Based on this kind of analysis, Californians are living on borrowed time.

They're also now worried that a double rupture of two faults, specifically the San Andreas and the San Jacinto are long overdue for activity.

Both the San Jacinto and the San Andreas ruptured together in 1912. Will it happen again? Scientists are reluctant to ponder the scenario.

According to averages, California suffers a major quake every 100 years. While the Northridge quake was serious, it wasn't big enough to be considered "The Big One." Scientists believe California is about 54 years overdue for a massive quake.

The worst effects will come from the damaged infrastructure as people cannot get food, water or electricity, and turn into rabid street animals. And this will happen against the backdrop of nearly continuous aftershocks that will leave many people nervous and on-edge.

Aside from moving away, there is no solution for this crisis, except for preparedness. For anyone who lives in Southern California, this is your warning.

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