DEVELOPING: (ETH) – Southern California is continuing to reel under seismic activity as a swarm of earthquakes has reportedly rattled Westmoreland which a city located south f the Salton Sea on Wednesday afternoon producing The largest earthquake of measuring at a magnitude 4.9 and struck just after 5 p.m.
Over 45 earthquakes measuring over 3.0 on the Richter scale rattled the region in just two and a half hours according to seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones. “One of the largest swarms we have had in the Imperial Valley – and it is historically the most active swarms in SoCal,” she said.
These swarms have left many locals on edge but Jones has reassured that Westmoreland is located over 30 km south of the end of the San Andreas. She went on further to state that “None of the earthquakes that have been happening in the Imperial Valley are anywhere near the San Andreas fault,” Jones said.
“They are in the Brawley Seismic Zone – a network of small faults that connect the San Andreas and Imperial faults. Historically largest Brawley event was M5.8.” Jones stated that the quakes are near the 1981 Westmoreland earthquake which measured at a 5.8. “That sequence had 10 quakes Magnitude 3.5,” These quakes have reportedly been felt throughout parts of Imperial and Riverside counties.
The U.S. Geological Survey said there has been a total of 240 quakes altogether in the region since. Jones explained that each earthquake makes more earthquakes likely, “but only nearby. Today’s M4.9 fault is ~2 miles across, so it can affect quakes within ~5 miles. The only faults nearby are small. In other words, there is no scientific reason to predict a big quake in another location today.”
