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For years, scientists have drawn up terrifying scenarios of widespread destruction and chaos that would come to Southern California when a catastrophic earthquake hits.

A quake as strong as magnitude 8.2 is possible on the southern San Andreas fault and would “cause damage in every city” in Southern California, said seismologist Lucy Jones. In this photo, the remains of a collapsed Kaiser building is seen following the 1994 Northridge earthquake. (Credit: Jonathan Alcorn / For the Times)
A quake as strong as magnitude 8.2 is possible on the southern San Andreas fault and would “cause damage in every city” in Southern California, said seismologist Lucy Jones. In this photo, the remains of a collapsed Kaiser building is seen following the 1994 Northridge earthquake. (Credit: Jonathan Alcorn / For the Times)

Their efforts to warn the public may get an unlikely boost from the unprecedented disaster unfolding in Houston, where Tropical Storm Harvey dumped trillions of gallons of rain across Texas and brought America’s fourth-largest city to its knees.

While epic flooding is different from a powerful temblor, both natural disasters fundamentally alter daily life for months or years.

In recent years, officials have drawn up detailed scenarios of what would happen if a huge quake struck this region, part of a larger campaign to better prepare.

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