Coachella faces massive earthquake threat

Home of California festival is 300 years overdue, experts say

The site of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is 300 years overdue for a massive earthquake, experts say.

The Coachella Valley, which lies between the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults, could face a magnitude 7.8 quake that could last more than 100 seconds, kill thousands, destroy homes, collapse the I-10 and I-15 freeways, ignite petroleum pipelines and leave thousands homeless, according to US seismologist Lucy Jones.

“There will be several thousand dead and billions of dollars in damage,” Jones said. She also indicated that the quake could topple buildings as far away as Los Angeles, which lies 150 miles west, reports the Los Angeles Times.

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Historically, major earthquakes have occurred in the Coachella Valley every 150 years, but for unexplained reasons, it has not faced a quake in more than 300 years.

The Coachella Festival is held in April of each year at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, in the heart of the Coachella Valley. This year’s headliners included Bjork, The Jesus And Mary Chain, Arctic Monkeys and Rage Against The Machine.

–By our Los Angeles staff.

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