'It will do a ton of damage': Viral weather medium predicts huge earthquake in California measuring at least 7.0 magnitude

  • Amateur weatherman and YouTube star Frankie MacDonald anticipates California being hit by a massive earthquake 'anytime soon'
  • MacDonald broadcasts his weather predictions from Nova Scotia, Canada
  • He's known for his enthusiastic reports as well as his catchphrase, 'Be prepared'
  • There have been a number of earth tremors along a three-mile stretch of the San Andreas fault in the past week

An autistic weatherman from Canada is predicting California will be hit by a massive earthquake 'anytime soon'.

In a video posted to YouTube on Tuesday, Frankie MacDonald from Nova Scotia, who has 156,000 subscribers to his channel, predicted a quake would hit the Golden State in the coming weeks. 

MacDonald's video has gone viral since he posted it online with almost 10,000 views.

Scroll down for video 

Amateur weatherman and YouTube star Frankie MacDonald anticipates California being hit by a massive earthquake 'anytime soon'

Amateur weatherman and YouTube star Frankie MacDonald anticipates California being hit by a massive earthquake 'anytime soon'

MacDonald broadcasts his weather predictions from Nova Scotia, Canada
He's known for his enthusiastic reports as well as his catchphrase, 'Be prepared'

MacDonald broadcasts his weather predictions from Nova Scotia, Canada. He's known for his enthusiastic reports as well as his catchphrase, 'Be prepared'

It the two minute clip he states that earthquakes are unpredictable but urges Californian's to 'be prepared'.

'A strong earthquake is on its way for California anytime soon and it will bring 7.0 or greater magnitude, and it will do a ton of damage!' he predicts.

'California lies on the San Andreas fault and once the tectonic plates slip it will cause a major earthquake and it will bring down power lines, snapping telephone poles in half  and it will do some damage to buildings,' MacDonald exclaimed.

'California and people in California Be Prepared! Have your medical kits, flashlights, emergency kits and bottled water ready. 

'During the earthquake go underneath tables and chairs and when you are outdoors don't go inside during the earthquake. It will be a very strong earthquake for California especially on the San Andreas Fault Line,' he continued.

'If you have anybody living in California be prepared for strong earthquake anytime soon. Don't get caught in the powerful earthquake - stay safe!

California is on high alert after a series of 'mini quakes' yesterday raised fears a deadly 'megaquake' on the San Andreas fault could be on its way. The largest of the swarm, a 4.6-magnitude quake, was felt in San Francisco more than 90 miles (145 km) away

Since last week 134 earthquakes have hammered a three-mile stretch around Monterey County on the San Andreas fault which experts say is long overdue a 'Big One'. Last week it suffe

Often known as the Noca Scotia's amateur weatherman, MacDonald has gained a massive following since he started posting weather videos about six years ago.

Each video enthusiastically tells Nova Scotians and people across the country and the world to 'be prepared' for incoming weather — from hurricanes to blizzards. 

MacDonald’s rise to celebrity status began after he started uploading his videos to The Weather Network. 

His presence on the station’s website introduced him to Canadians and soon he became known for his entertaining style, passionate delivery and (relatively) accurate weather forecasts.

MacDonald researches first using Accuweather, the Weather Channel and other websites and then makes a weathercast video for his YouTube channel.

He is known for his passionate and enthusiastic reports as well as his catchphrase, 'Be prepared', gaining him international fame.

MacDonald's rant may not totally unfounded: in the last week 134 earthquakes have hammered a three-mile stretch around Monterey County on the San Andreas fault.

WHAT IS THE BIG ONE? 

The 'Big One' is a hypothetical earthquake of magnitude 8 or greater that is expected to happen along the San Andreas fault.

Such a quake is expected to produce devastation to human civilisation within about 50-100 miles (80-160km) of the quake zone, especially in urban areas like Palm Springs, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Contingency plans warn upward of 14,000 people could die in worst-case scenarios, with 30,000 injured, thousands left homeless and the region's economy setback for years, if not decades.

Advertisement

Of those earthquakes, 17 were stronger than 2.5 magnitude and six of them were stronger than 3.0, with more tremors expected in the coming weeks, experts warn.

It follows fears raised last week that the 'Big One' is about to hit after a series of ten 'mini quakes' struck the same area.

'This one has been a quite productive aftershock sequence,' said Ole Kaven, a US Geological Survey (USGS) seismologist.

'We suspect there will be aftershocks in the 2 to 3 [magnitude] range for at least a few more weeks', he said.

There have not been any reports of injuries, writes San Francisco news outlet SFGate.  

CALIFORNIA AT RISK OF DEVASTATING MEGAQUAKE

A report from the U.S. Geological Survey has warned the risk of 'the big one' hitting California has increased dramatically.

Researchers analysed the latest data from the state's complex system of active geological faults, as well as new methods for translating these data into earthquake likelihoods.

The estimate for the likelihood that California will experience a magnitude 8 or larger earthquake in the next 30 years has increased from about 4.7 per cent to about 7.0 per cent, they say.

'We are fortunate that seismic activity in California has been relatively low over the past century,' said Tom Jordan, Director of the Southern California Earthquake Center and a co-author of the study.

'But we know that tectonic forces are continually tightening the springs of the San Andreas fault system, making big quakes inevitable.' 

Advertisement

Her team published a scenario of a 7.8 earthquake on the San Andreas fault that could kill many people and devastate 15,000 buildings. 

In 2011 a magnitude nine earthquake hit the east coast of Japan, killing around 20,000 people.

'The city leaders ignored protocol that said to move to higher ground and conducted their emergency meeting in the city hall', said Dr Jones.

'When the tsunami poured over the sea wall, they lost over 1,000 people, including most of their city government'. 

PLANS FOR 'THE BIG ONE' 

Federal, state and military officials have been working together to draft plans to be followed when the 'Big One' happens.

These contingency plans reflect deep anxiety about the potential gravity of the looming disaster: upward of 14,000 people dead in the worst-case scenarios, 30,000 injured, thousands left homeless and the region's economy setback for years, if not decades.

As a response, what planners envision is a deployment of civilian and military personnel and equipment that would eclipse the response to any natural disaster that has occurred so far in the US.

This haunting photograph shows people walking through rubble in San Francisco on 18 April 1906. Many people are worried that the city and LA, for example, would look like this again due to a massive quake

This haunting photograph shows people walking through rubble in San Francisco on 18 April 1906. Many people are worried that the city and LA, for example, would look like this again due to a massive quake

There would be waves of cargo planes, helicopters and ships, as well as tens of thousands of soldiers, emergency officials, mortuary teams, police officers, firefighters, engineers, medical personnel and other specialists.

'The response will be orders of magnitude larger than Hurricane Katrina or Super Storm Sandy,' said Lt. Col. Clayton Braun of the Washington State Army National Guard.

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.