State scientists predict there is a 99.7 percent chance that a magnitude 6.7 or larger earthquake will strike the Bay Area in the next 30 years. But how bad is that? Are we talking about another Haiti or Japan?

We took those questions to a geology professor at Santa Cruz and a researcher at the Northern California USGS to find out what kind of damage different earthquakes could do.

We're not fortune tellers, so we can't tell you exactly what would happen in the event of a 6.7, or an 8.1, or any magnitude for that matter. How old a building is and what it's made of play a big part in the equation. But, we can predict some basic things that might happen depending on where you are.

Click on the cells in the grid below to find out what might happen.

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• Likely Damage

• Additional damage in a liquefaction zone

• What if you're in a landslide zone?

• And what if you're near the fault line?

• 0 – 2.9

  About 1,300,000 earthquakes in the world every year.

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  The energy released from most earthquakes is so far underground that at this low magnitude very few people can feel any shaking, even close to the fault line. Buildings will not likely suffer any damage.

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  It's highly unlikely to see any damage in a liquefaction zone at this magnitude.

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  It's highly unlikely to see any damage in a landslide zone at this magnitude.

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  David McNew/Getty

  Houses in Southern California sit in the San Andreas Rift Zone, close to the parallel fault lines.

  It's highly unlikely to see any damage in a fault zone at this magnitude.

• 3.0 – 3.9

  About 1,300,000 earthquakes around the world every year.

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  People very close to the epicenter might feel a slight shaking, but the motion may not be recognizable as an earthquake.

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  It's highly unlikely to see any damage in a liquefaction zone at this magnitude.

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  It's highly unlikely to see any damage in a landslide zone at this magnitude.

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  David McNew/Getty

  Houses in Southern California sit in the San Andreas Rift Zone, close to the parallel fault lines.

  It's highly unlikely to see any damage in a fault zone at this magnitude.

• 4.0 – 4.9

  About 130,000 earthquakes around the world every year.

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  People close to the epicenter will feel a strong motion. Windows, dishes and doors may rattle. Farther away from the epicenter, the earthquake would barely be felt.

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  By 4.5M buildings in a liquefaction zone could see very minor changes in the soil.

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  It's unlikely that buildings in landslide zones will suffer material damage in this magnitude range.

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  It's unlikely that buildings in these areas will suffer material damage in this magnitude range.

• 5.0 – 5.9

  About 13,000 earthquakes around the world every year.

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  People farther away from the epicenter will feel shaking. The motion will probably wake people who are sleeping, doors could swing open and shut, and small objects may fall.

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  Very soft soil may begin to liquefy slightly, or become more like quicksand. Liquefaction zones are in areas where the ground was created by humans, a newer geologic creation, or in an old river bead or beach.

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  Small rocks may begin to fall.

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  Shaking will feel stronger and damage will be more severe if you are close to the epicenter.

• 6.0 – 6.4

  2011, Christchurch, New Zealand; 6.1M, 1933 Long Beach 6.3M

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  Martin Hunter/Getty

  A car is crushed by a building in the 6.3M aftershock in New Zealand.

  The entire region experiences a vigorous shaking. Bookcases may fall, windows and glass dishes could break. Poorly constructed buildings made of weak plaster, adobe or reinforced masonry may crack.

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  Phil Walter/Getty

  Liquefaction, causing the ground to collapse and water to rise, was one of the biggest problems in the 6.3M aftershock in Christchurch, Zealand.

  The soft soil intensifies the shaking, making it feel stronger. The soil continues to become liquefied, causing damage to poorly constructed buildings as the ground fails underneath them and becomes like quicksand. Sewer and underground pipes could rupture. Liqeufaction caused extensive damage in Christchurch, watch how it happens.

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  Torsten Blackwood/AFP/Getty

  A building is completely crushed by a massive boulder in Sumner, near Christchurch.

  Larger rocks will fall, possibly triggering landslides that could crash into buildings.

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  Shaking will feel stronger and damage will be more severe if you are close to the epicenter.

• 6.5 – 6.9

  1989, Loma Prieta, California, 6.9M

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  C.E. Meyer/USGS

  Sections of the Bay Bridge collapsed during the Loma Prieta earthquake.

  A 6.9M earthquake is the begginning of extensive damage. At this magnitude, the effects of an earthquake can be felt much farther away from the epicenter; for instance, bookshelves and lights may fall, and furniture could move. Closer to the epicenter, older buildings, buildings with more than two floors, or ones with a garage on the first floor may incur severe damage, such as structural damage, or even see the first floor collapse. People can feel the earthquake more than 50 miles away from the epicenter.

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  J.K. Nakata/USGS

  A car is crushed by the third floor of an apartment building in the Marina after the Loma Prieta earthquake. The ground levels are no longer visible because the building crashed and sank after the ground liquefied.

  The soil will fail in most liquefaction zones, becoming watery quicksand. As the density of the area's ground changes, lighter objects like fence posts could rise to the surface, or the ground could appear to move. People could feel a stronger vibration and poorly constructed buildings could crack as the ground changes. Water and sewer lines could break, making the recovery effort more difficult.

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  S.D. Ellen/USGS

  A landslide hit buildings in Fort Funston after the Loma Prieta earthquake.

  The shaking will feel stronger and can do more damage if you are close to the epicenter. Buildings may begin to crack, and the earth could have small ruptures caused by the large amounts of energy released by the earthquake.

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  The shaking will feel stronger and can do more damage if you are close to the epicenter. Buildings may begin to crack, and the earth could have small ruptures caused by the large amounts of energy released by the earthquake.

• 7.0 – 7.9

  2010, Haiti 7.0M; 2008, Shichuan, China ; 7.9M; 1906, San Francisco 7.8M

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  China Photos/Getty

  Chinese rescuers try to find survivors in the rubble after a 7.9M earthquake hit Sichuan, destroying homes, schools and a dam.

  The region begins to see greater damage because the ground is shaking for longer. Buildings meant to withstand shorter tremors may crack or fail. People will begin feeling aftershocks, which are often one magnitude less than the earthquake. People can feel the earthquake 100 miles away from the epicenter.

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  J.K. Nakata/USGS

  A car is crushed by the third floor of an apartment building in the Marina after the Loma Prieta earthquake. The ground levels are no longer visible because the building crashed and sank after the ground liquefied.

  The soft soil carries the energy strongly, making the earthquake feel 3 to 5 times stronger than in non-liquefaction zones. Water begins to come up out of the ground, poorly constructed buildings could be knocked off their foundations from the ground movement.

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  China Photos/Getty

  People run to escape from a landslide triggered by an aftershock in Sichuan Province, China.

  Large landslides could significantly damage buildings nearby, such as homes in the Santa Cruz mountains during Loma Prieta earthquake that were devastated. In Peru and Indonesia landslides in the upper 7 magnitude have buried more than two villages.

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  Scott Haefner/USGS

  During a 7.9M earthquake in 1857 this fault line moved 30 feet forming the offset stream there now.

  The ground may begin to rupture, slipping horizontally up to 10 feet.

• 8.0 – 8.9

  2010, Offshore Chile 8.8M

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  Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty

  A bridge collapses after an 8.8M earthquake in Chile.

  The earthquake can last more than 45 seconds, causing critical or extensive damage to even well-made buildings, though some may withstand the lengthy shaking. Utilities such as power, water, and sewer lines may rupture, and roads may crack.

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  Water continues to rise, breaking the foundations of even well-made buildings. Larger objects will rise up or sink into the earth. Utility lines and underground pipes could be very severely damaged.

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  The lengthy shaking can cause significant landslides, critically damaging buildings in the zone, and further away.

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  Even well-engineered buildings see damage as the earth ruptures and moves along the fault line. Rocks or water could seem to erupt out of the fault. The earth could move more than 10 feet along the fault line.

• 9.0 – 9.9

  2011 Japan 9.0M; 1964, Alaska 9.4M

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  Toshiharu Kato/Japanese Red Cross/IFRC/Getty

  A 9.0M earthquake and tsunami devastate towns on the coast of Northern Japan.

  Earthquakes of this magnitude cannot happen in the Bay Area, but can in the Cascade region, near Crescent City, where there is a subduction zone (ie: the type of fault in which one plate moves under another). Damage to well-made buildings range from serious to complete collapse. Buildings can be shifted off their foundations.

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  Toshiyuki Aizawa/Bloomberg/Getty

  Manholes sit pushed up from the ground from the recent earthquake in Urayasu, Japan. The quake caused water to bubble up from the ground across 3,600 acres.

  The area can become like a crater of quicksand. Buildings collapse, and underground pipes burst.

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  USGS

  Government Hill Elementary School in Anchorage was destroyed by a landslide during the 9.4 Alaskan earthquake.

  Buildings are extensively damaged, and could be destroyed or submerged.

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  USGS

  The ground northwest of the fault (on the right) was displaced upward as much as 16 feet vertically during the 1964 Alaska earthquake.

  The ground can move several meters along the fault, horizontally or vertically from 20 to 40 feet. The March 2011 Japanese earthquake moved the entire country 13 feet closer to America.

Defintions:

• A liquefaction zone is an area with softer soil, where landfill has been used to build the area, or something that was once a beach or river.
• A landslide zone is where the earth could fall and damage structures nearby.
• A fault zone is an area within 50 feet of a fault line. (Note: The Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act, restricts construction on or near earthquake faults. High-occupancy buildings, such as schools, hospitals and commercial projects, built since 1972 must be set back 50 feet from an active fault, however California Watch and KQED have found buildings such as schools in those areas.)

Sources:

1. Thorne Lay, Earth Science Professor, UC Santa Cruz
2. Tom Holzer, Northern California USGS Geologist
3. Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale of Shaking Intensity