A powerful earthquake rocked Southern California for the second time in as many days on Friday.
The magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit about 11 miles from Ridgecrest, the town in Kern County which was very close to the epicenter of the magnitude 6.4 quake that was felt on Thursday.
While the United States Geological Survey measured 7.1, the European Mediterranean Seismological Agency said the quake was a magnitude 6.9.
The quake was felt downtown as a rolling motion that seemed to last at least a half-minute.
Lucy Jones, a seismologist for the California Institute of Technology (CalTech), said Friday’s quake was the most powerful to hit the region since another 7.1 temblor in the same area in 1999.
The tremor late Friday was felt as far as Las Vegas, where the NBA canceled its Summer League game between the New York Knicks and the New Orleans Pelicans
The magnitude 7.1 earthquake’s epicenter was 11 miles from Ridgecrest, according to the United States Geological Survey
The Los Angeles Dodgers, who were hosting the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium on Friday, tweeted: ‘Was that an earthquake?’
The Padres also tweeted about the quake on Friday, saying: ‘Just roll with it’
It was felt as far away as Las Vegas, and the USGS says it also was felt in Mexico.
If the preliminary magnitude is correct, it would be the largest Southern California quake in 20 years.
Seismologists said earlier Friday there had been 1,700 aftershocks in the wake of the strongest earthquake to hit Southern California in 20 years, but they believed the chances of another large temblor were diminishing.
The Los Angeles commuter rail service Metrolink said on Twitter it has stopped service in the city of 4 million people for the time being.
A magnitude 5.4 quake at 4:07 a.m. Friday has been the strongest aftershock of Thursday’s 6.4 quake, which struck in the Mojave Desert near the town of Ridgecrest.
Smoke billows from a fire that broke out behind the Casa Corona restaurant following an earthquake in Ridgecrest on Friday
Kern County fire officials reported ‘multiple injuries and multiple fires’ without providing details
California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, said he put the state’s emergency services on the highest alert level
The image above shows another angel of the fire in Ridgecrest on Friday
The fire may have been caused by a gas leak, a frequent phenomenon during earthquakes
Kern County fire officials reported ‘multiple injuries and multiple fires’ without providing details.
San Bernardino County firefighters reported cracked buildings and a minor injury.
‘Homes shifted, foundation cracks, retaining walls down,’ the department said on Twitter.
‘One injury (minor) with firefighters treating patient. No unmet needs currently.’
The tremor in Vegas forced the NBA to cancel its nationally televised Summer League game between the New York Knicks and the New Orleans Pelicans.
Television footage from the game at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas shows the players and coaches walking off the court after tremors were felt throughout the arena.
Images also show the scoreboard and speakers attached to the roof wobbling back and forth as the aftershocks take effect.
The arena was filled to capacity as basketball fans eagerly anticipated the debut of No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson of the Pelicans.
Williamson and his team were squaring off against another prized Duke product, RJ Barrett, who was picked No. 3 overall by the New York Knicks.
Panicked fans are seen above heading for the exits at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas as tremors are felt in the middle of the NBA Summer League game between the New York Knicks and the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday evening
The NBA announced that it was suspending games on Friday due to the earthquake
Members of the Pelicans, including top draft pick Zion Williamson (right), are seen leaving the court
The scoreboard and the speakers in the arena were visibly shaking as the quake was felt
The New York Knicks wait on the sidelines after the earthquake struck during their game on Friday against the Pelicans in Las Vegas
Players and staff leave the court after the earthquake struck late on Friday
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Friday that he was activating the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services to its highest level
The NBA announced that it postponed the rest of Friday’s scheduled Summer League games in Las Vegas because of the earthquake.
The earthquake also rattled Dodger Stadium in the fourth inning of the team’s game against the San Diego Padres.
The quake on Friday night happened when Dodgers second baseman Enriquè Hernàndez was batting.
It didn’t appear to affect him or Padres pitcher Eric Lauer.
However, it was obvious to viewers of the SportsNet LA broadcast when the TV picture bounced up and down.
There was no announcement by the stadium’s public address announcer.
Some fans in the upper deck appeared to leave their seats and move to a concourse at the top of the stadium.
Two news anchors for the local CBS affiliate in Los Angeles – Juan Fernandez and Sara Donchey – were filmed live on the air as the earthquake hit, sending them into a panic
The press box lurched for about 20 seconds.
Juan Fernandez and Sara Donchey, two news anchors for the local CBS affiliate in Los Angeles, were seen live on the air seeking shelter as the quake struck on Friday.
‘We are experiencing quite a bit of shaking if you bear with us a moment,’ Donchey said.
‘We’re making sure nothing is going to come down in the studio here.’
A visibly terrified Donchey then grabs Fernandez’s arm.
‘This is a very strong earthquake,’ she said.
‘8:21 here and we’re experiencing very strong shaking. I think we need to get under the desk Juan.’
Donchey then got under the desk and the station cut to a commercial break.
Another local posted video on social media showing the earthquake strike as he was dining at a restaurant in Coachella Valley on Friday.
A resident of Los Angeles posted a video on Twitter showing the earthquake’s impact on the swimming pool in her backyard, but social media users were more interested in the fact that her terrified dog was locked out of the house in the middle of the tremors.
Food that fell from the shelves litters the floor of an aisle at a Walmart following an earthquake in Yucca Valley, California on Friday
A resident of Los Angeles posted a video on Twitter showing the earthquake’s impact on the swimming pool in her backyard
But social media users were more interested in the fact that her terrified dog was locked out of the house in the middle of the tremors. Fortunately, the dog, Max, was okay
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Friday that he was activating the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services to its highest level.
‘In response to another large earthquake in Southern California tonight, I have activated the [OES] state operation center to its highest level,’ the governor tweeted on Friday.
‘The state is coordinating mutual aid to local first responders.’
Communities in the Mojave Desert tallied damage and made emergency repairs to cracked roads and broken pipes earlier on Friday as aftershocks from Thursday’s earthquake in Southern California kept rumbling.
The town of Ridgecrest, close to the epicenter, assessed damage after several fires and multiple injuries that were blamed on the magnitude 6.4 quake on Thursday.
The reaction on the face of Big Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco says it all as the earthquake rocked Southern California on Friday
‘I could hear the alcohol bottles in our bar clanging together,’ Kuoco said on social media on Friday
While Cuoco appeared terrified, her equestrian husband, Karl Cook, seemed to take things in stride
A shelter drew 28 people overnight but not all of them slept inside amid the shaking.
‘Some people slept outside in tents because they were so nervous,’ said Marium Mohiuddin of the American Red Cross.
Damage appeared limited to desert areas, although the quake was felt widely, including in the Los Angeles region 150 miles away.
The largest aftershock thus far – magnitude 5.4 – was also felt in LA before dawn Friday.
The odds of a quake of similar size happening in the next few days continued to dwindle and was only 6 percent on Friday, seismologists said.
There had been about 1,700 aftershocks since the Thursday quake, which was a bit higher than average, said Zachary Ross of the California Institute of Technology.
Locals posted video on Twitter showing the water from swimming pools overflow as a result of the earthquake on Friday
This woman posted video showing the surge of water from the pool at her boyfriend’s mother’s home in Ridgecrest on Friday
Others on social media kept a sense of humor, posting funny memes about fighting the San Andreas fault
This Twitter user posted a GIF featuring Homer Simpson predicting that ‘the end is near’
Los Angeles International Airport released a statement saying that they had no reports of injuries
The Los Angeles Police Department reminded the public of phone numbers to call in case of an emergency
Randi Mayem Singer, a screenwriter, tweeted: ‘THAT. WENT. ON. FOREVER.’
A day after a powerful earthquake hit the area, this social media user observed that Mother Nature had other plans for Southern California on Friday
This Twitter user joked that he was going back to New York after three earthquakes in a row
Jeffrey McGregor posted video showing the quake hit a restaurant in Coachella Valley on Friday
‘An event of this size is going to keep producing aftershocks for years but the rates are going to decay with time,’ Ross said.
The quake involved two perpendicular faults in the area but it was unlikely to affect any fault lines away from the immediate area, seismologists said.
Damage in the town of Ridgecrest was relatively light because the city is relatively young, with growth coming in the 1940s and later so many buildings met upgraded building codes, said Susan Hough of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Ridgecrest Regional Hospital remained closed as state inspectors assessed it, spokeswoman Jayde Glenn said. The hospital’s own review found no structural damage, but there were cracks in walls, broken water pipes and water damage.
The image above taken on Thursday shows hundreds of books which tumbled off the shelves at Kern County Library in Ridgecrest, California after a strong 6.4 magnitude earthquake
A wall at the Esparza Restaurant has several new cracks after an earthquake in Trona. The image above was taken on Friday
Fissures that opened up under a highway during a powerful earthquake that struck Southern California are seen near the city of Ridgecrest on Thursday
People take pictures of a mobile home in Ridgecrest on Friday. The home was knocked off its foundation in the Fourth of July earthquake
Workers repair power lines after they were damaged during an earthquake in Trona
The hospital was prepared to help women in labor and to give triage care to emergency patients.
Fifteen patients were evacuated to other hospitals after the quake, Glenn said.
The quake did not appear to have caused major damage to roads and bridges in the area, but it did open three cracks across a short stretch of State Route 178 near the tiny town of Trona, said California Department of Transportation district spokeswoman Christine Knadler.
Those cracks were temporarily sealed, but engineers were investigating whether the two-lane highway was damaged beneath the cracks, Knadler said. Bridges in the area were also being checked.
The Ridgecrest library was closed as volunteers and staff picked up hundreds of books that fell off shelves.
The building’s cinderblock walls also had some cracks, said Charissa Wagner, library branch supervisor.
Wagner was at her home in the small city of 29,000 people when a small foreshock hit, followed by the large one, putting her and her 11-year-old daughter on edge.
‘The little one was like, ‘Oh what just happened.’ The big one came later and that was scarier,’ she said.
The earthquake knocked over a boulder that sat atop one of the rock spires at Trona Pinnacles outside of Ridgecrest, a collection of towering rock formations that has been featured in commercials and films, said Martha Maciel, a Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman in California.
Meanwhile, the nation’s second-largest city revealed plans to lower slightly the threshold for public alerts from its earthquake early warning app.
But officials said the change was in the works before the quake, which gave scientists at the California Institute of Technology’s seismology lab 48 seconds of warning but did not trigger a public notification.
‘Our goal is to alert people who might experience potentially damaging shaking, not just feel the shaking,’ said Robert de Groot, a spokesman for the U.S. Geological Survey’s ShakeAlert system, which is being developed for California, Oregon and Washington.
The West Coast ShakeAlert system has provided non-public earthquake notifications on a daily basis to many test users, including emergency agencies, industries, transportation systems and schools.
Traffic drives over a patched section of Highway 178 between Ridgecrest and Trona on Friday
Another crack on Highway 178 is seen above as construction crews work to fix a broken water line near Trona on Thursday
Late last year, the city of Los Angeles released a mobile app intended to provide ShakeAlert warnings for users within Los Angeles County.
The trigger threshold for LA’s app required a magnitude 5 or greater and an estimate of level 4 on the separate Modified Mercali Intensity scale, the level at which there is potentially damaging shaking.
Although Thursday’s quake was well above magnitude 5, the expected shaking for the Los Angeles area was level 3, de Groot said.
A revision of the magnitude threshold down to 4.5 was already underway, but the shaking intensity level would remain at 4. The rationale is to avoid numerous ShakeAlerts for small earthquakes that do not affect people.
‘If people get saturated with these messages, it’s going to make people not care as much,’ he said.
Construction of a network of seismic-monitoring stations for the West Coast is just over half complete, with most coverage in Southern California, San Francisco Bay Area and the Seattle-Tacoma area.
Eventually, the system will send out alerts over the same system used for Amber Alerts to defined areas that are expected to be affected by a quake, de Groot said.
California is partnering with the federal government to build the statewide earthquake warning system, with the goal of turning it on by June 2021.
The state has already spent at least $25million building it, including installing hundreds of seismic stations throughout the state.
This year, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state needed $16.3million to finish the project, which included money for stations to monitor seismic activity, plus nearly $7million for ‘outreach and education.’
The state Legislature approved the funding last month, and Newsom signed it into law.