A major earthquake shook Southern California and Nevada. The 6.4 magnitude quake was centered near Ridgecrest, which is just about 120 miles northeast of Los Angeles. Aftershocks measuring 4.7, 4.2, 3.8, and 3.5 hit the same area a short while later.
The earthquake occurred more than five miles underground and people as far away as Las Vegas and Sacramento reported feeling the quake. Residents in Los Angeles say the shaking lasted about 30 seconds.
"I was in my kitchen trying to get some coffee, and all the windows started rattling," Emma Gallegos, a 34-year-old journalist in southwest Bakersfield told the Los Angeles Times. "It was just a little bit at first — I thought something was going by, and then I realized all the windows were rattling. It was kind of a long gentle roll, and I felt two distinct waves."
There are no reports of injuries. The San Bernardino County Fire Department tweeted that roads and buildings were damaged in Trona, a small community near the epicenter of the quake. Stores near the center of the quake had products that toppled off of shelves and there was at least one house fire, but so far there are no reports of major injuries.
Seismologists say it's very likely there will be another earthquake in the same region. Officials predict that there is an 80% chance it will have a magnitude greater than 5.0, and a 20% chance of a magnitude 6.0 or greater quake. They added that there's a nine percent chance that there will be one that's stronger than the initial quake.
The earthquake was one the largest to hit Southern California since the devastating 1994 6.6 Northridge quake. Dozens of people were killed, and the quake caused billions of dollars in damage.
In 1999, a 7.1. quake struck the Southern California, but was in a remote region of the Mojave Desert and did almost no damage.
Photo: USGS