Science

Mere hours after the release of the first ever statewide earthquake forecast, a 3.2-magnitude shaker rolled through Santa Barbara at 10:49 p.m. on 4/14. Its epicenter was in the Santa Barbara Channel, four miles from downtown. Though it likely escaped many Santa Barbarans’ notice, a future one may not. The Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast predicts a 99 percent chance of a 6.7-magnitude quake occurring somewhere in California by 2038. To compare, the Northridge quake in 1994 registered about 6.7.