Article By David Lindfield
A geophysicist who accurately warned that Colombia was at risk of a major earthquake weeks before Monday’s deadly disaster is now sounding the alarm for the United States.
Stefan Burns is warning that California has moved squarely into the danger zone for a catastrophic earthquake, saying the devastating magnitude 7.4 quake that struck Colombia could increase seismic stress on major fault systems across North America.
“California is super overdue,” Burns warned during a livestream.
“What areas in California are now at greater risk?
“In general, just all of California, but really more Southern California would be at greater risk because of this.”
Colombia Quake May Have Triggered Dangerous Chain Reaction
Burns explained that the energy released by a major earthquake does not remain confined to one location.
Instead, seismic waves travel through the Earth’s crust, increasing stress on faults thousands of miles away and potentially setting the stage for additional powerful earthquakes.
He believes California’s San Andreas Fault, along with other major fault systems across the United States, could now be under increased pressure.
Burns also pointed to the New Madrid Seismic Zone, which stretches roughly 150 miles through parts of Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Illinois, as another region that could be vulnerable.
“The six-month to one-year time frame is what we’re worried about,” Burns said.
“If we get kind of past that, then maybe we can start to breathe a bit of a sigh of relief.
“But because we’ve been seeing so much activity in Northern California, it’s hard to rule out Northern California.
“So really all of California is problematic right now.”
Burns Predicted Colombia Disaster Weeks Earlier
The warning carries added weight because Burns publicly predicted that Colombia could experience a major earthquake nearly two months before Monday’s deadly disaster.
Following magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes in Venezuela on June 24, Burns said the seismic energy released by those quakes could eventually trigger another major rupture elsewhere in South America.
“Anytime I see two earthquakes pop off close together within the same year, they’re linked together,” Burns said at the time.
Monday’s magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Colombia, killing at least 132 people and causing widespread destruction.
History Shows Earthquakes Can Come in Waves
Burns says history reveals a pattern of major earthquakes occurring in clusters rather than as isolated events.
He pointed to the powerful New Madrid earthquakes that struck the central United States between December 1811 and February 1812.
Weeks later, Caracas, Venezuela, was devastated by another massive earthquake.
Then, roughly nine months later, California was struck by two powerful earthquakes believed to have exceeded magnitude 7.0.
“When you see these sorts of trends, you have to pay attention,” Burns said.
“It adds… a ‘plus one modifier’ of probability.
“This is not an exact science.
“There’s an art and a science to this.”
Based on that historical pattern, Burns believes the United States faces its highest risk of a magnitude 7.0 or stronger earthquake through the remainder of 2026 and into early 2027.
Millions Already Live in High-Risk Areas
The U.S. Geological Survey recently updated its national seismic hazard model, revealing that approximately 159.2 million Americans now live in areas exposed to “very strong” earthquake shaking.
That represents a dramatic increase from the previous estimate of 111.8 million.
California remains America’s best-known earthquake hotspot.
But the updated hazard maps also show elevated risks extending through the New Madrid Seismic Zone and into parts of the eastern United States.
The USGS has warned that major transportation infrastructure in cities including New York, Atlanta, and St. Louis could prove especially vulnerable if severe earthquakes damage key bridges and transportation corridors.
Pacific ‘Ring Of Fire’ May Be Shifting
Burns has previously argued that seismic activity across the Pacific “Ring of Fire” is shifting toward the eastern side of the tectonic plate.
The Ring of Fire stretches approximately 15,500 miles around the Pacific Ocean and includes both the west coasts of North and South America.
After a series of massive earthquakes struck the western Pacific, including the magnitude 8.8 Kamchatka earthquake in Russia last year, Burns said he expected increased activity to migrate toward the Americas.
“We’ve had tons of activity in the Western Pacific,” Burns said.
“And I do see it moving more towards the East, and I see that really hitting South America and also North America pretty strongly.”
The Big One Could Be Catastrophic
Scientists have long warned that California faces an inevitable major earthquake.
USGS modeling shows that a hypothetical magnitude 7.8 earthquake striking along the southern San Andreas Fault near Los Angeles could kill approximately 1,800 people, injure around 50,000 more, and cause roughly $200 billion in damage.
Elsewhere, the Geological Society of America has estimated that a magnitude 7.6 earthquake along the New Madrid fault system could cause more than $43 billion in damage and claim more than 80,000 lives.
With one devastating earthquake already striking South America exactly where Burns warned it might, the geophysicist believes Americans should now pay close attention to what comes next.
His warning is simple: California, and much of the United States, may now be entering the most dangerous seismic window in years.
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