SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Just a week after a magnitude 3.9 earthquake struck Oakland’s Hayward Fault, new research highlights a danger on the San Andreas Fault. Researchers at San Jose State University found that the fault is slipping faster than previously thought. RELATED: 3.8 magnitude earthquake centered near Oakland Zoo shakes Bay Area, felt as far away as Sacramento. SJSU Professor Kim Blisniuk spoke with ABC7 Eyewitness News about the new research. “The great aspect of this work is that it is an index of which landform preserves previous earthquakes along the fault,” Blisniuk said. “And the rate is similar to the rate we get from the San Andreas Fault to the north on the north coast section. But prior to the work my colleagues and I did in Sanborn County Park, the rate appears not to decrease along the San Andreas Fault, but appears to be constant over this 10,000-year window that we were able to document. “This is important because faults that move faster can generally produce earthquakes more frequently.” We know we live on a plate boundary, and we’re always surprised when, ‘Oh my gosh, an earthquake happened in Japan or Colombia,’ but we’re going to have an earthquake in California and we need to be prepared,” Blisniuk said. “I don’t think the idea that slip rates are constant along the San Andreas Fault, where we’ve studied, is a big surprise to many people. We just didn’t have that data before.” earthquakes along this fault, and we will have them in the future,” Blisniuk said. The research has not yet been published or peer-reviewed, but it is a good reminder to always be prepared. “I always use the example of insurance. We always want car insurance, home insurance, and we never want to use it, but it’s there for us,” Blisniuk said. “And so having an earthquake preparedness kit to prepare us for a potential disaster when an earthquake hits will really help us deal with the trauma of having an earthquake.” Earthquake preparedness tips can be found here. Watch the full interview in the player above. Copyright © 2026 KGO-TV. All rights reserved.
