Hundreds of aftershocks occurred after a major earthquake in California

Hundreds of aftershocks occurred in Southern California on July 5, the day after the region was recorded the strongest earthquake in the last 20 yearswhich caused fires and provoked evacuation from the hospital in Ridzhkrest.

Photo: USGS. Public domain

The strength of most aftershocks was in the range from 2 to 3 points, some - in the range from 3 to 4 points, writes USA Today.

“We detect tremors every few minutes. There are hundreds of them. There is a chance of some larger aftershocks in the magnitude 5 range,” Randy Baldwin, a geophysicist at the US National Earthquake Information Center, said on the morning of July 5.

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One of the aftershocks occurred at a time when Jed McLaughlin, the Chief of Police of Ridgekrest, informed journalists about an emergency situation in connection with an earthquake on Thursday.

According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the 4,1 aftershock was concentrated approximately 8,7 miles (14 km) southwest of Searles Valley, California, around 5: 38 in the morning local time on Friday. The data shows that another tremor of magnitude 3,6 occurred in the same area in less than 20 minutes.

Twitter screenshot

Lucy Jones, a seismologist from California, tweeted that the actual likelihood of a large earthquake after these shocks is 1 to 20 000. At the same time, she added that the chances of each person getting into a car accident are about 1 to 7 000.

Although the July 4 earthquake, with a valid 6,4 score, was felt in Los Angeles and even in Las Vegas, it did not cause damage in these places. Its epicenter was far enough from the dangerous San Andreas Fault, which does not greatly increase the risk of a big jolt.

According to Jones and other seismologists, this major seismic event marked the first time that an earthquake of more than 6 points occurred in Southern California over the last 20 years, the last time the impulse of a similar force was recorded in 1999 year, then it reached the 7,1 point.

Twitter screenshot

The July 4 earthquake triggered the evacuation of patients and hospital staff in Ridzhkrest. The Kern County Fire Service reported that firefighters and other emergency services responded to about two dozen incidents in Ridzhkrest and its environs, ranging from medical assistance to fires in buildings caused by aftershocks.

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Kern County Fire Department chief David Witt said that the rescue services in Ridgecrest had responded to at least two house fires, a small forest fire, fallen power lines and gas leaks. California Governor Gavin Newsom and Ridgecrest Mayor Peggy Briden have declared a state of emergency in the area.

The 4th of July #California #earthquake pic.twitter.com/qhMp2tZjML

- Watchman from Japan @ AWAITING HIS RETURN (@WatchmanFromJP) July 5, 2019

Glenn Pomeroy, head of the California Earthquake Office, said the earthquake is "an important reminder that the whole of California is a region of earthquakes."

“It's important to know what to do to stay safe when the ground starts to shake - duck, cover and wait. Other steps also need to be taken to prepare for survival and recovery from devastating earthquakes, such as rebuilding homes,” he said, recalling the importance of earthquake insurance.

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Recall 4 July in southern California and Nevada earthquake struck magnitude xnumx points. Its epicenter was located 6,4 miles (7 kilometers) from the Cirless Valley, about 11 miles (130 kilometers) west of Bakersfield and about 209 miles (200 kilometers) east of the Nevada border.

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