New research indicates that 'creeping faults' are more dangerous than they were thought to be

[Emily]

http://www.ouramazingplanet.com/3968-creeping-faults-dangerous.html

How Earthquakes Bash Through 'Creeping' Faults
Becky Oskin, OurAmazingPlanet Staff Writer - Jan 09, 2013 01:00 PM ET

Some of the largest and deadliest earthquakes in recent years hit where earthquake hazard estimates didn't predict massive quakes.

A detailed computer model of large earthquakes in Japan and Taiwan helps explain why.

Contrary to decades of geologic wisdom, creeping fault segments, thought to slide smoothly past one another, can suddenly switch to a different mode during an earthquake, the model finds. Instead of acting as a barrier to rupture, the creeping segment loses its resistance, most likely through frictional heating. ...