An earthquake's impact can be predicted – but only after it hits

“Even if it’s a theoretical possibility, it may be a practical impossibility,” said Andrew Michael, a California-based geophysicist at the USGS. A powerful 7.1 magnitude quake shook the remote town of Ridgecrest in the Mojave Desert on Friday evening, a day and a half after a 6.4 magnitude temblor was recorded in the same region. On average, a quake is followed by an even stronger tremor only about 5% of the time, though it happens more frequently in areas with significant geothermal activity, like the Mojave, according to Michael.