{"id":34508,"date":"2019-07-06T05:37:23","date_gmt":"2019-07-06T09:37:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cosmicconvergence.org\/?p=34508"},"modified":"2019-07-06T05:37:23","modified_gmt":"2019-07-06T09:37:23","slug":"largest-earthquake-in-nearly-20-years-rattles-southern-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cosmicconvergence.org\/?p=34508","title":{"rendered":"Largest earthquake in nearly 20 years rattles Southern California"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Another, stronger quake in Ridgecrest shakes Southern California, causing more damage<\/h1>\n

By ALEJANDRA REYES-VELARDE, ROSANNA XIA, RUBEN VIVES and KAREN KAPLAN
\nLos Angeles Times<\/p>\n

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A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Southern California on Friday night, the second major temblor in less than two days and one that rocked buildings across Southern California, adding more jitters to an already nervous region.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The quake was centered near Ridgecrest, the location of the July Fourth 6.4 magnitude temblor<\/a> that was the largest in nearly 20 years. It was followed by an aftershock first reported as 5.5 in magnitude. Scientists said the fault causing the quakes appears to be growing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Friday night\u2019s quake caused some fires and other damage in and around Ridgecrest and Trona, two Mojave Desert towns shaken by both quakes, said Mark Ghilarducci, director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. The quake was felt as far away as Phoenix, Las Vegas, Baja California and Reno, according to crowd-sourced data logged into the U.S. Geological Survey\u2019s Did You Feel It?<\/a> website.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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About 3,000 residents in Ridgecrest and the surrounding areas are without power after the earthquake, according to Southern California Edison. In Los Angeles, there were no immediate reports of major damage to buildings and infrastructure, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.<\/p>\n

In Trona and Ridgecrest, residents answered their phones frantically and in fear.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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(Los Angeles Times)<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cThey\u2019re saying the ground split,\u201d said Winter Wilson, who was driving home to Trona from Bakersfield, her voice shaking. \u201cThey made me promise not to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Trona resident Ivan Amerson said he had heard reports from neighbors there was \u201csignificant damage\u201d to the town, with houses knocked off their foundations. Amerson evacuated with his family after the first quake and was unsure he could quickly get back, given reports that roads to the town were impassable. New cracks and rockslides closed Highway 178 between the two towns, after damage had been repaired following Thursday\u2019s quake, Caltrans reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Ghilarducci said Trona, home to about 2,000 people, reportedly sustained collapsed buildings and gas leaks. Power and communication are out, and the outages have made it difficult for first responders to determine the extent of the damage. \u201cWe know that as day breaks, we\u2019ll be able to get a better assessment of the total damage,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Ghilarducci added that priorities will be to provide support for medical and firefighting needs, as well as trying to get power back on. Maj. Gen. David Baldwin, adjutant general of the California National Guard, said a joint task force that will include 200 security forces and military aircraft will be sent to assist.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The quake caused further damage to a U.S. weapons testing facility outside Ridgecrest, the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake<\/a>, although details were sparse early Saturday. \u201cNAWS China Lake is not mission capable until further notice; however, security protocols remain in effect,\u201d the naval base said on its Facebook page<\/a> after the latest temblor. The installation is the Navy\u2019s largest single landholding, sprawling over 1.1 million acres, an area larger than Rhode Island.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The 7.1 quake that struck at about 8:20 p.m. Friday night was about 10 times larger than the one on Thursday morning, said Lucy Jones, a well-known Caltech seismologist.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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(Chris Keller \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The Friday quake occurred on the same fault system as the 6.4 temblor. It was farther away from Los Angeles, though still in the Owens Valley.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThis happened at the end of the zone that moved previously,\u201d Jones said, adding that the fault is now likely to be 25 to 30 miles long.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe fault is growing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Given its size, it\u2019s likely to be followed by more shaking that will be felt in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe largest aftershock, on average, to a 7.1 would be a magnitude 6,\u201d Jones said. That means that another quake on the order of Thursday\u2019s 6.4 temblor \u201cwould not be surprising to anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Or it could be even bigger.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Jones said she could not recall a pattern of earthquakes in California where a 6.4 foreshock was followed by a 7.1 event, only to be followed by an even bigger quake.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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But that doesn\u2019t mean it can\u2019t happen, she cautioned.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIt is clearly a very energetic sequence, so there\u2019s no reason to think we can\u2019t have more large earthquakes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Thursday\u2019s 6.4 foreshock triggered shaking in Ridgecrest of intensity 8. With Friday\u2019s 7.1 quake, the shaking intensity reached a 9, Jones said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statement late Friday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cOn behalf of all Californians, I offer my heartfelt support to those affected by tonight\u2019s earthquake near Ridgecrest,\u201d the governor said. \u201cThe state of California will continue to offer support to aid residents in the region.\u201d He added that he had requested an emergency declaration from the White House and had activated the State Operations Center in Mather, Calif., to its highest level.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Kern County Fire Chief David Witt said his department had responded to multiple structural fires, but there were no reported fatalities. He said there had been many ambulance calls and inspectors were checking the condition of Isabella Lake Dam above Bakersfield, and would continue to investigate. His department has requested assistance from L.A. city and county fire departments and the Orange County Fire Department.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The plan now is to conduct a systematic search in the Ridgecrest area. Helicopters are also assisting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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In Ridgecrest, Jeremiah Jones laughed when a Times reporter asked what the latest earthquake felt like.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cYou mean, what didn\u2019t I feel?\u201d he said. \u201cIt was bad. Man. It hasn\u2019t stopped yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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(Los Angeles Times)<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Jones was minutes away from his home with friends when the earthquake struck. His friends cried and panicked. TVs and cabinets were damaged.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Jones knew his daughters were out of town, giving him a sense of relief, but he returned to his apartment to assess his own damage. He had prepared for this, putting expensive or dangerous items like TVs and things hung on the walls on the floor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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But even with the precautions, his apartment was torn apart.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cAll the expensive stuff was secure, but everything off the cabinets and fridge and drawers, closets \u2014 everything was thrown everywhere,\u201d he said. \u201cI have a lot to do right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The shaking put nerves on edge at Dodger Stadium<\/a>, where Becky Carbone, an interior decorator from Norwell, Mass., was watching a game with her husband and two sons, ages 9 and 12, during a visit to the city.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThis one we felt while sitting up high at the Dodgers game,\u201d said Carbone, 43. \u201cThe kids were intrigued and basically knew what was happening. I think as Bostonians, we don\u2019t scare easily. And the fact that everyone around us was so calm definitely helped them see that it was OK.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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At the Ahmanson Theatre, the play \u201cIndecent\u201d was underway when the long, rolling quake hit. The cast continued their lines as stage lights swayed above their heads and words projected onto the set blurred.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Audience murmuring grew louder, and the cast was ordered off the set with an announcement that said something like, \u201cClear the stage. We\u2019re having an earthquake.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Audience members stayed in their seats, bringing their phones back to life to see how strong the quake was. \u201c7.1!\u201d you could hear people squealing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The cast remained off stage for about 15 minutes. At one point, a voice from behind the stage said: \u201cForgive us, we\u2019re from New York,\u201d which drew laughter. When the actors returned to where they had left off, someone yelled out: \u201cWelcome to California.\u201d And the show, as they say, went on.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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At the Skirball Cultural Center, dozens of people were eating the last of their chicken and fish at a wedding rehearsal dinner when the tables started shaking.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cPeople started yelling, \u2018Earthquake\u2019 and \u2018Do you feel that?\u2019 \u201d Joanna Korshak, 29, said. \u201cWe were outside and we could feel it, which is crazy. And I could see all the windows shaking on the museum.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cAfter it was over, everyone started clapping,\u201d Korshak said. Someone could be heard yelling, \u201cWelcome to L.A.\u201d amid the post-earthquake applause. The celebrations quickly resumed, with the father of the groom getting up to make a speech.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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When the earlier temblor hit Thursday, scientists had warned that it could lead to an even larger quake<\/a>. Ridgecrest has been rattled by more than 17 magnitude 4 quakes and at least 1,200 aftershocks since Thursday. A magnitude 5.4 aftershock occurred earlier Friday morning \u2014 strong enough to awaken Los Angeles residents about 125 miles away.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThis is an earthquake sequence,\u201d Jones said. \u201cIt will be ongoing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Friday\u2019s quake was larger in magnitude than the destructive 1994 Northridge quake, which measured 6.7 magnitude. But that temblor occurred in an urban area, while this week\u2019s huge quakes occurred 100 miles from L.A.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A 7.1 quake in 1999 hit the Hector Mines area of the Mojave Desert. Because of its distance from Los Angeles, it did not cause major damage or injuries.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The Fourth of July earthquake had ruptured along a length of fault 10 miles long, from a remote point northeast of Ridgecrest, Calif., a city of 29,000 people, and continued southwest almost all the way to the city limits, scientists said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The aftershocks will probably \u201cgo on for months, if not years,\u201d Caltech seismologist Egill Hauksson said earlier Friday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The odds, he told The Times, were decent that there could be another aftershock of magnitude 5 or greater at some point.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Times staff writers Phil Willon, Alexa Diaz, Anita Chabria, Seema Mehta, Julia Wick, Ron-Gong Lin II, Mary Forgione and Piper McDaniel contributed to this report.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

___
\nhttps:\/\/www.latimes.com\/local\/lanow\/la-me-major-earthquake-southern-california20190705-story.html<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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