A giant swarm of earthquakes has struck Southern California near a major fault line that could unleash the infamous ‘Big One’ and decimate the West Coast.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said that several dozen small and moderate-sized earthquakes struck the area around the Salton Sea Thursday night and Friday morning, a lake roughly 100 miles from San Diego.
The most powerful in the earthquake swarm struck at 5:55am ET Friday and was measured at 4.3 in magnitude. Since then, over 30 smaller quakes have struck the same area along the lake’s southern tip.
Three more notable earthquakes struck the same spot between 4:18am and 4:22am. Each quake was greater than 2.5 in magnitude, stronger enough for people to feel and cause minor damage.
Two more earthquake swarms broke out Thursday night the northern and western sides of the lake. As of Friday afternoon, there have been more than 10 earthquakes recorded in each location.
The powerful swarms broke out right along the boundary between the Pacific and North American tectonic plates, a highly active seismic region.
The string of new quakes in this area could signal the approaching mega earthquake often called ‘The Big One,’ which many scientists and Californians believe is inevitable.
The six earthquakes around the Salton Sea are also just a few dozen miles from several active fault lines running through California, including the infamous San Andreas fault.
A swarm of earthquakes has struck Southern California near a major fault line that could unleash the infamous ‘Big One’ and decimate the West Coast
The US Geological Survey said that several dozen small and moderate-sized earthquakes struck the area around the Salton Sea Thursday night and Friday morning, a lake roughly 100 miles from San Diego
More than 30 people reported that they felt the swarm’s largest earthquake in distant locations including Carlsbad and Whittier, roughly 100 miles from the tremor’s epicenter, according to The Sacramento Bee.
There have not been any reports of damage or injuries at this time.
On Facebook, several residents claimed that they did feel the larger quake but did not notice the dozens of smaller tremors that followed.
The magnitude 4.3 earthquake Friday morning struck less than 40 miles from the San Andreas fault, an 800-mile fault line running from Southern California, through the Bay Area, and all the way to the northern part of the state.
The latest quakes were also approximately 50 miles away from the Elsinore fault line, which extends from the US-Mexico border through San Diego County and is about 110 to 150 miles long.
Both of these fault lines are feared to be nearing the time or overdue for a massive earthquake, potentially greater than 8.0 in magnitude.
Previous estimates of an earthquake approaching 8.0 on the Richter scale along the San Andreas fault projected that there could be 1,800 deaths and 50,000 injuries across California.
While it’s been one of the quietest of the California faults throughout recorded history, seismologist Lucy Jones warned that the Elsinore fault is still capable of producing an earthquake up to 7.8 in magnitude.
The most powerful in the earthquake swarm struck at 5:55am ET Friday and was measured at 4.3 in magnitude. Since then, over 30 smaller quakes have struck the same area along the Salton Sea’s southern tip (pictured)
The latest quakes were approximately 50 miles away from the Elsinore fault line, which extends from the US-Mexico border through San Diego (pictured)
The last time Elsinore produced a major earthquake above 6.0 in magnitude was in 1910, but data from the USGS and Southern California Earthquake Center has warned that such events occur every 100 to 200 years.
‘The Elsinore fault is one of the major risks in Southern California,’ Jones said after a 5.2 magnitude quake struck San Diego on April 14.
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