A recently-discovered fault running beneath downtown LA could kill up to 18,000 people if it ruptured in a major earthquake, geologists said Wednesday.

Did you just crap your pants? Let’s put things in perspective:

1) The Puente Hills fault has caused a mere four known quakes of magnitude 7.2 to 7.5 in the past 11,000 years. That’s about one Big One every 3,000 years. Yawn.
2) LA County’s total population is 9.8 Million. So in a worst-case scenario we’re only losing 0.18% fellow Angelenos. I like those odds.
3) High-end estimates assume the quake occurs on a weekday afternoon, when downtown population is at its peak. This limits the death window to about 30 business hours a week. Wake me when it’s over.
4) We can’t get enough of lesbian earthquake expert, Kate Hutton, either. Bring it on.

In related news the nation remains at Yellow Alert: Significant Risk of Terrorist Attacks.

Check out the latest tremors and the NBC Seismocam.