It may seem unlikely that a large earthquake would take place hundreds of kilometers away from a tectonic plate boundary, in areas with low levels of strain on the crust from tectonic motion. But major earthquakes such as the Mw 7.9 2008 Chengdu quake in China and New Zealand’s 2011 Mw 6.3 quake have shown that large earthquakes do occur and can cause significant infrastructure damage and loss of life. So what should seismologists look for if they want to identify where an earthquake might happen despite the absence of historical seismic activity?
These areas are not only restricted to the Americas. Bilham notes that in many parts of Asia, where huge populations now reside and critical facilities exist or are planned, a similar historical silence exists. Parts of the Himalaya and central and western India that have not had any major earthquake in more than 500 years could experience shaking at levels and durations that are unprecedented in their written histories.