‘We’ll be right back’: Moment terrified news anchors panic when powerful 7.1 magnitude quake strikes Southern California live on air – and one even hides under her desk
- Juan Fernandez and Sara Donchey were reporting for KCAL9 News at 8pm
- The magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit about 11 miles from Ridgecrest on Friday
- A visibly terrified Donchey then grabbed Fernandez’s arm before seeking cover
- ‘This is a very strong earthquake. I think we need to get under the desk’, she says
- FOX Sports also posted a clip online showing their hosts and crew taking shelter
- Former pitcher Dontrelle Willis is visibly scared and looks around in panic
This is the moment two terrified news anchors panic when a powerful 7.1 magnitude quake strikes Southern California live on air leaving one hiding under her desk.
Juan Fernandez and Sara Donchey were reporting for KCAL9 News at 8pm on Friday when the tremors started.
As the set shook a visibly terrified Donchey then grabbed Fernandez’s arm.
She said: ‘We are experiencing quite a bit of shaking if you bear with us a moment. We’re making sure nothing is going to come down in the studio here.
‘We’re experiencing very strong shaking. I think we need to get under the desk.’
‘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 took cover while still on air, hiding under her desk as the show cut to a commercial break.
Juan Fernandez and Sara Donchey were reporting for KCAL9 News at 8pm on Friday when the tremors started. As the set shook a visibly terrified Donchey then grabbed Fernandez’s arm
‘This is a very strong earthquake. I think we need to get under the desk’, she says
Donchey took cover while still on air, hiding under her desk as the show cut to commercials
FOX Sports: MLB posted a video online showing their hosts and crew prepping for the show as the quake hit.
As the tremors are felt one can be heard saying: ‘Oh s***, oh s***.
‘Aren’t we supposed to get under a door or something?’
Former pitcher Dontrelle Willis is visibly scared and looks around in panic, asking: ‘Was that an earthquake?’
His colleague replies: ‘Yes look at the cameras.’ Another adds: ‘It’s still going.’
Willis and the rest of the crew takes cover as equipment on the set can be seen shaking.
The magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit on Friday about 11 miles from Ridgecrest, the town in Kern County which was very close to the epicenter of the magnitude 6.4 quake felt on Thursday.
The quake, which interrupted sports games and sparked fires, was felt downtown as a rolling motion that seemed to last at least a half-minute.
If the preliminary magnitude is correct, it would be the largest Southern California quake in 20 years.
Former pitcher Dontrelle Willis is visibly scared in this clip FOX Sports: MLB posted online
A view of fallen bottles that smashed on the ground after an earthquake, at a gas station and liquor store in Ridgecrest, California
A man walks in the middle of fallen and broken bottles in a gas station and liquor store the 178 after an earthquake in Ridgecrest
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.
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.’