California earthquakes similar to 2011 Japan disaster? Analyzing viral messages

Are California earthquakes similar to massive 2011 Japan tremors that led to a tsunami and claimed thousands of lives?

Southern California has been hit by 2 of the strongest earthquakes the region has ever felt, but some unverified viral messages say that it is not over yet. A tweet that compared the quake with the 2011 Japan disaster went viral just hours after the strong 7.1 magnitude tremor.

Just to freak everybody out... before Japan had a 9.0 earthquake back in 2011, they had 2 foreshocks. The first one happened 2 days before the big one, the next one happened the next day. In conclusion, the big one is tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/YRKQbEA6P2

— Martín (@_Mrtnn) July 6, 2019

The tweet pointed out how Japan was hit by 2 foreshocks on continuous days before the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and instantly went viral as people got scared especially after experiencing the strongest earthquake in California in a decade. Similar messages are also being repeatedly shared on other social media platforms as well.

The tweet seems to be immature and is not backed by any real research, so there's no need to panic. Even the user, who tweeted it, has also added that he was "kidding" in a later tweet.

But California residents should still stay alert as more aftershocks are expected and authorities are also gearing up for an unlikely event. Preliminary estimates from seismologists say that the chances that a quake with a magnitude of more than 7.1 will strike the region in the next week are roughly 8 percent to 9 percent.

On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 quake caused a tsunami in Japan that triggered meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The quake and tsunami heavily damaged coastal neighborhoods and took more than 18,000 lives.