The San Andreas Fault, which stretches roughly 800 miles across California, hasn’t triggered a major quake in decades, and scientists are concerned the region is due for the next Big One.

Geologist and San Diego State University Professor Emeritus Patrick Abbott told KTLA that a recent study shows the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults are at critical stress levels.

“In the last 1,000 years there’s never been this much energy built up,” Abbott said.

As the pressure builds, the potential for a 7.0-magnitude earthquake or greater increases.

“The energy is being pushed or stored into rocks in Southern California and [the question is], how much can it store and when will it be released?” Abbott said.

The study, which was recently published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, shows that even larger and more destructive earthquakes could be looming in Southern California. Two large earthquakes could strike simultaneously along the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults, the study shows, potentially causing catastrophic damage across the region.

“We could have not just, quote, ‘the Big One,’ but the big two here, just like Venezuela and Turkey have experienced,” Abbott said.

Last month Venezuela experienced 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes seconds apart. The quakes killed more than 3,300 people. In 2023, Turkey was hit by 7.3 and 7.8 earthquakes, killing more than 53,000 people.

Although scientists have determined that a concerning amount of pressure has built up along the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults, they say they can’t predict when the next big earthquake will strike.

“Earthquakes are part of California, and so there’s no sense worrying about what’s inevitable,” Abbott said. “You just have to fall proof or shake proof your house and office as much as you can.”

California residents are strongly encouraged to prepare for the next major earthquake. Earthquake preparedness tools and information are available at earthquake.ca.gov.