Southern California rocked by strongest quake in two decades

Southern California was rocked by a 6.4-magnitude earthquakeThursday morning, the US Geological Survey said, with authorities warning thatthe temblor, the largest in two decades, might not be the day’s last.

The shallow quake struck in the vast desert region of theSearles Valley in San Bernardino County just six miles (10 kilometers) from thetown of Ridgecrest at 10:33 a.m. (23:03 IST), but was felt 160 miles away inLos Angeles and even as far as Las Vegas in the neighbouring state of Nevada.

   

Local authorities emphasised that the end of the earthquake didnot mean residents were yet in the clear, however President Donald Trump wroteon Twitter that “All seems to be very much under control!” 

Caltech seismologist Lucy Jones told a press conference that residents”will continue having a lot of aftershocks,” adding that dozens hadalready occurred and that some may be as strong as magnitude five.

Emergency responders did not immediately report mass injuries orany deaths, but USGS seismologist Rob Graves said that “this earthquake islarge enough that the shaking could have caused damage.” 

The quake was the largest in Southern California since 1999 when the7.1-magnitude Hector Mine quake struck the Twentynine Palms Marine Corps base,according to The Los Angeles Times.

The fire department in Kern County, which encompassesRidgecrest, reported it was “working nearly 2 dozens incidents rangingfrom medical assistance to structure fires in and around the city” andthat evacuations were underway at the Ridgecrest Regional Hospital.

The San Bernardino County Fire Department meanwhile said that”buildings and roads have sustained varying degrees of damage.” Thisincluded “buildings with minor cracks; broken water mains; power linesdown; rock slides on certain roads,” but no injuries or fires.

The quake struck at a depth of 5.4 miles (8.7 kilometers) in thevast desert region, lasting multiple seconds. Its epicenter was located in oron the edge of the US Navy’s sprawling desert bomb testing range known as ChinaLake.

The Naval Air Weapons Station covers 1.1 million acres (445,000hectares) and strictly controls the airspace above it. Inside, the Navydevelops and tests missiles, bombs, artillery shells and other war ordnance,and the aircraft used to deliver it.

An official at China Lake said there was “substantialdamage” to their facilities, including fires, water leaks and spills ofhazardous materials.

Los Angeles International Airport said its runways wereunharmed, with operations continuing as normal.

The city’s police, meanwhile, reported on Twitter that they hadnot “received any reports of damage or calls for service.” 

While California is the most populous state in the US, the quake was located ina sparsely populated portion of the Mojave Desert.

Jones said there is a small possibility this quake is theprelude for a larger tremor.

“There is about a one-in-20 chance that this location willbe having an even bigger earthquake within the next few days, that we have notyet seen the biggest earthquake of the sequence,” she said.

Celebrities in Los Angeles were quick to react to the trembling.

“Been living in Los Angeles all my life,” filmmakerAva DuVernay wrote on Twitter. “That was the longest earthquake I’ve everexperienced. Not jerky. Smooth and rolling. But it was loooong.

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