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The strongest earthquake to hit Southern California in nearly 20 years prompted one city to declare a state of emergency Thursday and shook residents from Las Vegas to Orange County.
The quake, with a magnitude of 6.4, was centered near Ridgecrest, a community west of the Mojave Desert and about 150 miles north of Los Angeles.
At least 159 aftershocks of magnitude 2.5 or greater were recorded after the earthquake, according to USGS Seismologist Robert Graves.
It is higher than the normal number, but not unprecedented, he said. The largest of them was magnitude 4.6.
Noted seismologist Lucy Jones called it a “robust” series and said there is a 50% chance of another large quake in the next week.
Jones said there is a 1 in 20 chance that a bigger earthquake will hit within the next few days. “It’s certain that this area is going to be shaking a lot today and some of those aftershocks will probably exceed magnitude 5.”
Jones said the quake, named the Searles Valley Quake, was preceded by a magnitude 4.2 foreshock.
There were also power outages in the city of 28,000 residents. The forecasted high temperature is 100 degrees Fahrenheit, the National Weather Service said.
In Kern County, at the epicenter, the Fire Department responded to more than 20 incidents relating to the earthquake and aftershocks, including fires and medical emergencies, according to a tweet on its verified account.
Ridgecrest Regional Hospital was evacuated. About 15 patients from the emergency room were taken to another hospital, and inspectors were going through the facility to determine whether it was safe to bring the other patients in from the tented areas outside.
In Los Angeles, the main temblor was felt like a long, rolling quake, and buildings rocked back and forth. Many in the city noted how much longer this earthquake felt than most.
#earthquake #losangeles did anyone else feel it?!? pic.twitter.com/CvVxBJwBvL
— Faby (@lovelyfabyy) July 4, 2019
My dads liquor store in Ridgecrest (11 miles from the earthquake) ? pic.twitter.com/4RC0mY3eha
— Zomo (@zomo_abd) July 4, 2019
Many residents were upset because the city’s one-of-a-kind smartphone app didn’t send a warning in advance. Afterward, city authorities said they would change the parameters on the application to issue alerts for smaller quakes.
The rolling ground also caused Disneyland officials to temporarily shut down rides.
It was the largest quake to hit Southern California since 1999 when a 7.1 earthquake struck in a remote part of the Mojave desert.
In 1994, at least 57 people died when a 6.7 earthquake hit the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, causing $25 billion in damage.
