An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.4 (previously 5.9, later downgraded) jolted the Borrego Springs area at 4:53 p.m. today. The Borrego Springs earthquake 2010 was widely felt across Southern California, some in the San Diego County area reporting it as a quick jolt and others in Los Angeles as a long deep roll. It was even felt in Las Vegas.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said there were no immediately reports of damage or injury within the city. Officials at LAX said operations were running normally.
For those who remember the July 2008 earthquake, that was a 5.4 in Chino Hills, outside Los Angeles.
The quake, which the USGS is labeling as “moderate,” was located four miles from (see the ridge and distance in satellite view) where a 4.9 shook on June 12th. The wider Southeastern California area has seen a number of quakes, including the 7.2 Mexicali Easter Sunday one, which scientists believe could have made other local faults riskier.
As of 5:25 p.m., over 30 aftershocks had occurred. Six of them were over 3.0, the highest at 3.6.
One of those faults that could be at risk is the San Jacinto fault, which today’s quake make have been on. “It looks like it is on the San Jacinto fault system in Borrego Springs, or a splinter of it,” said Bob Dollar, a seismologist at the USGS, to the San Diego Union-Tribune. “A lot of people are working on this fault because it is the most active fault in Southern California. We’ve had more 6s there than any other fault in Southern California in the last century.”
Some preliminary magnitudes included 5.9 and 5.7.