Will tsunamis affect California?

When the "big one" earthquake finally hits California, how bad will the damage be?

• It is predicted that a devastating massive earthquake will strike California sooner or later. Most predictions say it will happen in San Francisco or Los Angeles. What kind of damage could we expect from such a massive earthquake? How many lives lost? Would whole cities be destroyed? Would tsunamis affect other cities in the area?

• Answer:

  I'm not a seismologist so my answer would be based upon a worst-case scenario of the Hayward Fault (which runs under San Francisco Bay) which could cripple most of the Bay Area and kill thousands. There was an earthquake in 1868 and had the Bay had a larger population, it could have been one of the worst disasters in US history. References: http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=1899 http://www.1868alliance.org/ http://articles.sfgate.com/2007-10-18/news/17266044_1_hayward-fault-east-bay-quake http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/earth/the-dynamic-earth/earthquake-technology-faults.html