California was rocked by another strong earthquake on Friday, just a day after the US state witnessed the strongest earthquake in the region in 25 years on July 4.
California was rocked by another strong earthquake on Friday, just a day after the US state witnessed the strongest earthquake in the region in 25 years on July 4.
While there were several aftershocks Thursday's earthquake of 6.4 magnitude quake near the city of Ridgecrest in southern California, Friday's quake is the strongest earthquake was the magnitude of 7.1 on the Richter scale, US Geological Survey said.
The quake hit the town of Ridgecrest on the edge of Death Valley National Park 202 km (125 miles) northeast of Los Angeles. The European quake agency EMSC the epicentre of the earthquake was 16 km west of Searles Valley and 202 km north of Los Angeles. The quake occurred at 8:19 pm local time and depth recorded was 10 km. The agency recorded several aftershocks, the strongest being 4.7, just 3 minutes after the first one.
Also Read: Gas leaks, fires, rockslides: Damage, injuries reported in Southern California after 7.1 quake
Another massive aftershock of magnitude 5.5 was recorded at 8:47 pm, USGS said. This is the biggest earthquake in California after 1992 when the region witnessed a 7.3 quake on June 28.
Some building damage was reported from several parts of the region. The San Bernadino County Fire Department reported that the quake had caused some damage to buildings while CNN reported that leaks in gas pipes triggered fire in some parts. Footage showed firemen trying to douse the blaze that caught some houses in the area following the earthquake.
Just a few hours before this early on Friday, a strong aftershock shook Southern California as residents were still assessing the damage from the strongest earthquake in the region in 25 years on July 4, which was felt by more than 20 million people. The 5.4 magnitude aftershock struck the same desert region as Thursday's earthquake. Its epicentre was about 11 miles (18 km) west of Searles Valley at 4:07 am, the USGS said.
The aftershock was felt in Los Angeles, about 150 miles (240 km) to the south, and the surrounding area, with many residents posting on Twitter that they were awakened by it.
Following the Thursday's earthquake of 6.4-magnitude, the strongest in 25 years, there have been a spate of aftershocks with the magnitude going as high as 5.4 on early Friday.
By midday local time on Friday, the USGS had registered more than 200 smaller aftershocks following Thursday's 6.4 magnitude quake near the city of Ridgecrest, which was felt from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Seismologists said they were expecting more in the next few days.
The quake hit the edge of Death Valley National Park about 113 miles northeast of Los Angeles at about 10:30 a.m. on Thursday. It was very shallow, only 6.7 miles (10.7 km) deep, amplifying its effect, and was felt in an area inhabited by 20 million people, the European quake agency EMSC said.
The Ridgecrest Regional Hospital, where 15 patients were evacuated earlier, appeared intact apart from some new cracks in the walls.
The quake is the largest in Southern California since the 1994 magnitude 6.6 Northridge earthquake, USGS geophysicist Paul Caruso said. That quake, which was centered in a heavily populated area of Los Angeles, killed 57 people and caused billions of dollars of damage.
(With Reuters inputs)
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