My honest answer is I've been having a rotten time of it the past few days.
And no, I haven't picked up any viruses or anything.
Frankly it wouldn't surprise in the least if we get another mag 7-range quake within the next three to five days or so. On average, we can expect one
in the mag 7 range about every three weeks and it's only been 8 clear days since the last one on Jan 5, but that means little in the long-term scheme
of things. Our planet's systems of energy balances don't work on such narrow times scales. While there can be two mag 7 quakes within a day, there
can also be a break of months between them.
So, averages notwithstanding, I am expecting a pretty decent one within three to five days. A high mag six would not be that unusual (as we get a mag
6 range quake about every three days anyway), so for it to be significant it would have to be up at least in the mag 7 range.
As for location, I'm flummoxed. There are always the likely supects, like western coastal Sth America (Peru/Chile and maybe Bolivia), the Indonesian
region, the Vanuatu/Solomon Islands area, and possibly even the Kamchatka region, but it would be less than helpful to say it's likely one of those.
Actually I tend to feel that it won't be one of the former, which is what bothers me.
two regions that I've mentioned in the past couple of months and where nothing much has yet eventuated were Taiwan and Belize. Vastly different
locations but actually with some tectonic similarities: they both have major faults either running through them or very close by, which are capable of
mag 7-plus events and possibly even in the mag 8 range, and neither (especially Belize) have seen much action in the past few years.
Taiwan's last very bad quake was Sept 21, 1999. This mag 7.3 event was felt throughout the island and caused over 2,000 fatalities.
The most
recent one there in the 7 range was a mag 7.0 on Dec 26, 2006. (2 fatalities.)
As for Belize, there has been almost nothing of note there. Yet. But it neighbours Guatemala, and as we know, they had a pretty major quake there (mag
7.4) on Nov 7, 2012.
So, while I'm unable to pin down a location, I still feel the two above mentioned are worth keeping an eye on. I'd be interested in your own
thoughts and impressions.