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Shockwave: Swarm of earthquakes hit Southern California
According to the U.S. Geological Survey’s latest data, several earthquakes of between 2.5 and 4.5 in magnitude hit the southern part of the state
May 1, 2023 8:56am
Updated: May 1, 2023 8:56am
A swarm of seismic events—several consecutive earthquakes—hit southern California within 24 hours throughout the weekend, seismologists said.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) latest data, several earthquakes of between 2.5 and 4.5 in magnitude hit the southern part of the state. The first swarm struck around noon local time on Saturday, by the town of Heber, near the U.S.-Mexico border, lasting until around 5:12 a.m. on Sunday. Nearly 50 tremors were recorded from the swarm and were felt by around 60 residents.
A second swarm hit the Salton Sea, about 40 miles north of Herber, right after midnight on Sunday. This swarm of about 25 tremors recorded the highest magnitude earthquake, sending shockwaves that could be felt for miles, according to the USGS.
So far, no damages or injuries caused by the earthquakes were reported.
A new study conducted by Researchers from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) claims that Los Angeles and other parts of California could be hit by a major earthquake soon.
The team detected over 1,200 tremors or micro-earthquakes near the Newport-Inglewood fault, which extends 47 miles from Culver City to Newport Beach, before turning into the Pacific Ocean.
“The surprising aspect is the relative number of shallow events,” said one of the researchers, adding that the number of quakes found was larger than expected.
While these small earthquakes take place less than a mile below the surface of the earth, they can build up, and eventually lead to significant damage on the surface, such as ruptures, or even an intense earthquake closer to 7 in magnitude.
The new seismic activity comes days after the USGS released a report claiming that California could lose an average of $9.6 billion a year from earthquake damage—a significant increase from the projected $3.7 billion a year in 2017.
"In any given year a big earthquake strikes ... you can easily anticipate a $100-billion loss," USGS research structural engineer Kishor Jaiswal told The Los Angeles Times.
