California more than overdue for The Big One – either tomorrow or in 2038.

A group of scientists working with the U.S. Geological Survey and the Southern California Earthquake Center say that California has a 99.7 percent chance of having an earthquake with a magnitude 6.7 or higher within the next 30 years. The greatest likelihood for Southern California’s temblor would be along the San Andreas Fault, which separates the Santa Clarita and Antelope Valleys.

While the entire state was subject of the scientist’s study, the Southern California region has double the probability of having a quake greater than magnitude 7.5 within the same time period.

City officials hope that the public will take the USGS report as a wake-up call to refresh (or perhaps assemble) their disaster preparedness kits. Lists to guide in putting together kits are available on the city’s website at santa-clarita.com.

To see the complete report on earthquake predictions, go to http://www.scec.org/ucerf/.