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Southern California was struck by a “very sturdy” 5.2-magnitude earthquake on Tuesday night, based on the US Geological Survey (USGS).
The epicenter of the quake was about 15 miles southwest of Lamont, Kern County. It struck at round 9.10pm PT, with individuals in Fresno, Bakersfield, Santa Clarita and as far afield as Los Angeles reportedly feeling its tremors.
A survey initially measured the earthquake at 5.3 on the Richter scale, earlier than it was later downgraded to five.2. Dozens of aftershocks registering as excessive as 4.5 magnitude started simply 45 seconds after the preliminary quake.
The shaking on the level closest to the epicenter felt “very sturdy,” as outlined by the Modified Mercalli Depth Scale.
The USGS, which is assessing the impression of the quake, stated there’s a low chance of damages and casualties – neither of which have been reported. There may be additionally “no tsunami hazard,” based on the Nationwide Climate Service.
Roughly 60 aftershocks had been recorded over the next hour, based on the California Institute of Expertise seismologist Lucy Jones.
Jones, who relies in Pasadena, famous that “we’re seeing a sturdy aftershock sequence,” she wrote on X late on Tuesday.
The seismologist added that the quake occurred close to the White Wolf fault in Kern County, the place an earthquake registering 7.5 on the Richter scale killed 12 individuals in 1952. “It doesn’t look like on the identical fault as that earthquake,” she confirmed.
A big boulder the scale of an SUV was reportedly blocking lanes on Interstate 5 close to Grapevine Highway two minutes after the quake struck, based on the California Freeway Patrol.
It isn’t clear whether or not the boulder has been eliminated.
An emergency alert was despatched out to many Southern Californians’ cellphones from the USGS’ ShockAlert early warning system seconds earlier than the shaking started.
“Earthquake Detected! Drop, Cowl, Maintain On. Defend Your self. -USGS ShakeAlert,” the notification learn.
Los Angeles Hearth Division deployed helicopters and despatched workers from stations to evaluate whether or not any accidents or structural injury had occurred within the metropolis, which is about 88 miles from the epicenter.
In a put up on X on Tuesday night, the town’s mayor Karen Bass confirmed there have been “no damages or accidents within the Metropolis of Los Angeles.”
LA County Sheriff’s Deputy Jose Gomez stated he didn’t really feel any tremors on his drive into work within the neighboring metropolis of Santa Clarita, based on the Los Angeles Occasions.
Earthquakes with magnitudes between 5.0 and 6.0 happen 5 occasions per 12 months throughout California and Nevada, based on a three-year information pattern.
Yearly Southern California experiences as much as 10,000 earthquakes, with most of them registering low on the Richter scale and inflicting little to no injury or accidents.
The latest important earthquake (above a 6.0 on the Richter scale) within the state was the 6.4 magnitude quake that occurred in Ferndale, Humboldt County, in December 2022, by which two individuals had been killed and 17 injured.
