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6.4-Magnitude Earthquake Rattles Southern California 6.4-Magnitude Earthquake Rattles Southern California
(about 1 hour later)
A 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit a remote area of Southern California on Thursday, the most powerful tremor to shake that region in many years, according to media reports and the United States Geological Survey. SANTA MONICA, Calif. — A 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit a remote area of Southern California on Thursday, the most powerful tremor to shake that region in several years, according to the United States Geological Survey.
It was not immediately clear whether anyone was injured in the quake, which struck the Los Angeles area shortly after 1 p.m. EST. Its epicenter was located in the Searles Valley, a remote desert region. It was not immediately clear whether anyone was injured in the quake, which struck shortly after 1 p.m. EST. Its epicenter was located near the Searles Valley, a remote region in the Mojave Desert about a hundred miles north of Los Angeles and 50 miles east of Bakersfield.
“It’s been widely felt, but we don’t expect any significant damage,” said Paul Caruso, a geophysicist with the United States Geological Survey.“It’s been widely felt, but we don’t expect any significant damage,” said Paul Caruso, a geophysicist with the United States Geological Survey.
He emphasized that the temblor would have been far worse if it had been closer to Los Angeles.He emphasized that the temblor would have been far worse if it had been closer to Los Angeles.
“An earthquake that strong that occurred near a city would cause major destruction and probably a lot of casualties,” he said.“An earthquake that strong that occurred near a city would cause major destruction and probably a lot of casualties,” he said.
Dr. Lucy Jones, a seismologist at Caltech, said the earthquake was the biggest in Southern California since 1999.Dr. Lucy Jones, a seismologist at Caltech, said the earthquake was the biggest in Southern California since 1999.
Data from the U.S.G.S. showed a swarm of aftershocks rattled the same region after the earthquake. A 4.0-magnitude temblor preceded the big shake.Data from the U.S.G.S. showed a swarm of aftershocks rattled the same region after the earthquake. A 4.0-magnitude temblor preceded the big shake.
The fire department in Kern County said its crews were responding to nearly two dozen medical and fire incidents in and around Ridgecrest, the city of about 30,000 that appeared closest to the epicenter. The fire department in Kern County said on Twitter that its crews were responding to nearly two dozen medical and fire incidents in and around Ridgecrest, the small desert city of about 30,000 that appeared closest to the epicenter. The Kern County Sheriff’s Office posted on Instagram that it was fielding 911 calls for Ridgecrest police and assisting them with calls.
This story will be updated. “The Ridgecrest hospital and several apartment buildings are being evacuated,” the sheriff’s office wrote. Temporary shelters opened at two locations, including a Walmart in Ridgecrest.
In Lake Isabella, some 60 miles west of Ridgecrest, Reyanna Denier, 39, was doing laundry when she felt shaking and figured the washing machine needed to be leveled to the ground of her modular home, which sits on an elevated foundation, almost as if on stilts.
“I told my husband, and he said, ‘It’s not the washing machine. That’s an earthquake!’” she said.
The couple moved under the door jamb, which Ms. Denier said she could feel “flex, like loping waves on the ocean, kind of like on a boat.”
“It wasn’t that it was violent jerking, but it was steady,” she said. “Our chandelier was rocking back and forth, and the T.V. — the flat screen — was wavering. It was really disconcerting because you’re going, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s not stopping.’”
A few hours later, Ms. Denier could see emergency vehicles driving past. A helicopter buzzed in the sky.
President Trump said Thursday afternoon on Twitter that he had been briefed on the earthquake.
Whether people in Los Angeles felt the earthquake or not depended on where they were and what they were doing. Those driving in cars or riding city buses said they had no idea there had been an earthquake, while those in higher floors of apartment buildings or hotels said they had been terrified.
“I almost had a heart attack,” said Nathan Jones, who was making tea in his apartment in Santa Monica when the earthquake struck.
“I’m 73 years old,” he said. “I felt real dizzy, and I kept rocking like this. And I thought, ‘Is this how I’m going to go out?’ I thought I was dying.”
For Starla Hawkins, who was singing on the street in Santa Monica for tips, it was “just like a real small earthquake.” The trees were swaying, she said, but she wasn’t scared.
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Marina Del Rey shook and the elevators went out, and shortly after, a public address announcement at the hotel told guests there had been an earthquake. “We apologize for the inconvenience,” the message said.
Those on the upper floors felt a powerful jolt.
“I felt like the hotel was going to come crashing down,” said Miguel Forbes, a guest at the hotel.
Deandra Blakely was restocking food shelves at a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in Santa Monica when she felt a sway.
“At first I thought I was dizzy,” said Ms. Blakely, a barista.
Then her supervisor ran out and asked if she had felt it. Two other workers at the coffee shop felt nothing.
Neither did Kevin and Jacki Walker, two British tourists who figured the temblor happened while they were watching the Fourth of July parade in Santa Monica.
Asked if they were concerned about possible aftershocks, Mr. Walker shook his head no.
“We’re English,” he said. “We’re cool about everything.”