SAN FRANCISCO, April 18 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake of magnitude 7 or above could cause devastating damages and losses to U.S. San Francisco Bay Area if it hits the densely populated cities in the region including Oakland, San Francisco and Silicon Valley, a new study showed Wednesday.

The research conducted by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) found that the Hayward Fault poses a significant threat to the Bay Area because it runs through some of the most populated cities in the Bay Area such as Oakland and Berkeley.

A 7-magnitude earthquake could kill at least 800 people and injure 18,000 more if it hits the area, a possible scenario as grim as the devastating earthquake that reduced San Francisco to rubble in 1906, the research said.

It also estimated that around 77,000 households would be displaced and the quake would cost about 82 billion U.S. dollars in economic losses.

Up to 3,000 people died and over 80 percent of the city of San Francisco was destroyed in the 7.9-magnitude earthquake in 1906, the worst and deadliest in the history of the United States.

The Hayward Fault is a major earthquake fault in California that runs for nearly 72 km through the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay, a densely populated region that is not far from San Francisco, San Jose and Silicon Valley that is home to many world renowned hi-tech companies.

About 2 million people live on the Hayward Fault, according to the USGS study.

The results of the USGS research were announced on the 112th anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake that struck along the San Andreas Fault on April 18, 1906.