Southern California rattled by big quake
6.4 magnitude temblor damages buildings, roads
An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 shook parts of Southern California on Thursday morning, damaging roads and buildings.
The United States Geological Survey reported that the quake was centered 11 miles from Ridgecrest — about 120 miles east of Bakersfield — at 10:33 a.m. The agency originally reported a magnitude of 6.6, but later scaled it down to 6.4.
There were more than 80 aftershocks, ranging from 3.0 to 4.7 in magnitude, within the first three hours following the quake, the USGS reported.
Kern County Fire Chief David Witt in a news conference said their immediate focus was the city of Ridgecrest, where there emergency officials are responding to at least two house fires, a small vegetation fire, downed power lines and gas leaks. “There are more calls than we have people,” Witt said, adding that he expects local officials will get more assistance in the coming hours.
Minor injuries were reported and some structural damage, including buildings with the glass blown out as well as downed grocery store shelves, according to Witt.
Officials also confirmed an evacua
tion of Ridgecrest Regional Hospital was underway, and the Kern County Sheriff ’s Office said on Instagram that “several apartment buildings are being evacuated.”
Two temporary shelters in Ridgecrest were set up for residents: Wal-Mart at 201 E. Bowman Road and the Kerr McGee Center at 100 W. California Ave.
In an Instagram video, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office posted video from a helicopter as it scanned for significant damage.
A leading expert said more quakes, possibly big, are expected throughout the day.
Dr. Lucy Jones, a seismologist and founder of the Dr. Lucy Jones Center for Science & Society, estimated during a press conference that there’s a 50 percent chance of an aftershock exceeding a magnitude of 5.0 later on Thursday afternoon.
“It’s certain this area is going to be shaken a lot today,” Jones said. “Some of those aftershocks will exceed magnitude five.”
The last time Southern California had an earthquake greater than magnitude 6.0 was in October 1999. The magnitude-7.1 quake was centered about 30 miles north of Joshua Tree National Park headquarters and was felt in Nevada, Arizona and Mexico.
In 1994, a 6.7 magnitude earthquake shook the San Fernando Valley north of Los Angeles, killing more than 50 and injuring thousands. The initial quake was followed by thousands of aftershocks, two of which were of 6.0 magnitude.
“This would be a good time to remind you if you have been experiencing earthquakes for the last 20 years in Southern California you have been experiencing an extremely quiet time in California history,” Jones said.
Authorities across Southern California warned residents not to call 911 with earthquake-related questions unless they were calling to report injuries or other dangerous situations.
The San Bernardino County Fire Department reported multiple buildings with minor cracks and broken water mains, downed power lines and rock slides blocking some roads. No fires were reported.
The San Bernardino Sheriff ’s Department received reports of a crack on Highway 178 in Searles Valley where the earthquake was centered, according to spokesperson Jeff Allison. An airship was dispatched to the location of the reported crack.
Allison said the Sheriff ’s Department responded to five home alarms that went off after the earthquake. There are currently no reports of damage in that area.
The Ventura County Fire Department reported that its resources were available and had not been affected, and that firefighters were surveying the county for any damage.
A 4.2-magnitude quake reported in the area about half an hour before by the USGS was described as foreshock by Jones on her Twitter account.
Jones later said on Twitter that the quake was on a “strikeslip fault about 10 miles from Ridgecrest” and not the San Andreas fault. She said it is an area with “a lot of little faults but no long fault.”
The Fourth of July quake stoked fears of the “Big One” across social media. The quake was felt as far as Los Angeles. Social media erupted with questions, others posted videos and photos of house items swaying during the shake.
Jones responded to queries on Twitter about the probability that this quake was a precursor to something bigger saying, “If the daily probability of the Big One was 50/50, then the chance it would happen in the next week would be >99%. Real probability is about 2% per yer, or 1/20,000 each day.”