A preliminary 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck close to Bakersfield and shook all the best way to Los Angeles County.
It occurred at about 9:09 p.m., roughly 14.29 miles southwest of Lamont, California, which borders Bakersfield. It’s a comparatively rural space about 89 miles north of downtown Los Angeles.
Instantly after the earthquake, the Los Angeles Fireplace Division deployed its helicopters to survey the area for any potential damages.
“Our @LAFD has activated to conduct its routine survey of town and assess for any damages,” Mayor Karen Bass tweeted.” Metropolis groups will proceed to watch any impacts.”
After conducting the survey, firefighters discovered no important harm to the infrastructure or any buildings. LAFD acquired zero damage studies inside LA metropolis limits.
Geologists consider there’s little to no threat of landslides or liquefaction within the space, in line with the USGS.
Aftershocks
Greater than two dozen earthquakes adopted the unique, with magnitudes between 2.5 and 4.5. The aftershocks struck close to Lamont and Grapevine. About 25% of the aftershocks are likely to occur inside an hour after the unique quake.
The USGS recorded three aftershocks above magnitude 4.0. The overwhelming majority of the aftershocks, about 15, had been under magnitude 3.0. About 9 extra magnitude 3.0 to three.8 earthquakes struck the area shortly after the unique.
“That is a fairly lively sequence for this very brief period of time for the reason that occasion,” seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones mentioned.
She mentioned the aftershocks had been inside the vary of a typical sequence of earthquakes.
Cal Tech seismologists weigh in
The US Geological Survey posted a map depicting the depth of the shaking within the areas surrounding Lamont. In response to the map, the shaking was delicate in LA County however between mild and average close to the epicenter of Lamont.
Allen Husker, a seismology analysis professor on the California Institute of Know-how, attributed the shaking in LA to the basin impact. Basins, on account of their softer nature, are likely to amplify the shaking.
Jones mentioned the earthquake originated within the southern finish of the Central Valley, near the epicenter of a magnitude 7.5 earthquake that rocked the area in 1952.
“Nevertheless, it doesn’t seem like on the identical fault as that earthquake,” she added. “It would not appear like this [recent] earthquake is related to any recognized fault.”
Jones believes there’s a 5% probability that the 5.2-magnitude earthquake was a foreshock, much like each different earthquake in California. There isn’t a indication that this occasion is any completely different.
“When it comes to the probabilities that it is a foreshock, now we have the identical reply for each earthquake: it is a few 5% probability,” she mentioned. “1 in 20 earthquakes in Southern California we see are adopted by one thing bigger and seems to be a foreshock inside the subsequent few days.”
The danger of earthquakes being a foreshock drastically drops with time.
“One-quarter of all foreshocks are inside an hour of the principle shock,” Jones mentioned. “By the point that we get to 3 days out … basically the danger might be all gone.”
