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posted by chromas on Saturday July 06 2019, @04:27AM   Printer-friendly
from the shake-rattle-and-roll dept.

Update: Second, larger quake shakes Southern California, also near Ridgecrest

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Southern California Friday night, the second major temblor in less than two days and one that rocked buildings across Southern California, adding more jitters to an already nervous region.

The quake was centered near Ridgecrest, the location of the July 4th 6.2 magnitude temblor that was the largest in nearly 20 years.

There were reports of Friday night's quake causing some fires and other damage in Ridgecrest, said emergency officials on the scene.

[...] When Thursday's quake hit, scientists had warned that it could lead to an even larger quake. Ridgecrest has been rattled by more than 17 magnitude 4 quakes and at least 1,200 aftershocks since Thursday. A magnitude 5.4 aftershock occurred earlier this morning— strong enough to awaken some residents of Los Angeles about 125 miles away.

Strongest Earthquake in Years Rattles Southern California; Damage Reported:

The largest earthquake in two decades rattled Southern California on Thursday morning, shaking communities from Las Vegas to Long Beach and ending a quiet period in the state's seismic history.

Striking at 10:33 a.m., the magnitude 6.4 temblor was centered about 125 miles northeast of Los Angeles in the remote Searles Valley area near where Inyo, San Bernardino and Kern counties meet. It was felt as far away as Ensenada and Mexicali in Mexico, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Reno and Chico, Calif.

Authorities said there were no immediate reports of deaths, serious injuries or major infrastructure damage, though emergency responders were still inspecting areas around the city of Ridgecrest.

Patients at Ridgecrest Regional Hospital were evacuated "out of an abundance of caution," hospital Chief Executive James Suver said. About 20 patients were transferred to other facilities while seismic engineers inspected broken pipes in the facility. "For true emergencies, we will stabilize them and then get them to the right level of care," he said.

Ridgecrest, a community of about 29,000 known to many skiers as a pit stop on the way to Mammoth, was inundated with offers of help, from neighboring towns, congressional leaders such as Rep. Kevin McCarthy and Sen. Kamala Harris and even the White House, Mayor Peggy Breeden said.

[...] The quake, estimated to have been felt by some 15 million people, was the largest with an epicenter in Southern California since the magnitude 7.1 Hector Mine quake struck the Mojave Desert in 1999, about 35 miles north of Twentynine Palms Marine Corps base. The last earthquake felt as widely as Thursday's was the magnitude 7.2 earthquake on Easter Sunday 2010 that had an epicenter across the border in Baja California.

Before Thursday, it had been almost five years since the state experienced an earthquake of magnitude 6 or stronger. Experts had said the period of calm was sure to end, and when it did it would likely bring destruction.

[...] The rocking in Searles Valley began with two foreshocks: an initial quake of magnitude 4 at 10:02 a.m. Seven minutes later, a 2.5 temblor struck. About 24 minutes later, the mainshock began seven miles underground, lasting five seconds.

[...] By midafternoon, more than 200 aftershocks had been recorded, including 10 of magnitude 4 or greater.

Caltech seismologist Lucy Jones, California's foremost earthquake expert, said that aftershocks will continue to rumble through Kern County, and there is a small chance that the quake was a "foreshock" of an even greater temblor to come.

[...] The faults that moved Thursday were nowhere near California's most feared fault — they are about 100 miles northeast of the San Andreas, said Caltech seismologist Egill Hauksson.


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  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 05 2019, @01:18AM (16 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 05 2019, @01:18AM (#863307)

    Nothing 'breaking', not notable enough for 'news', WTF?

    • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 05 2019, @01:24AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 05 2019, @01:24AM (#863309)

      The quake, estimated to have been felt by some 15 million people, was the largest with an epicenter in Southern California since the magnitude 7.1 Hector Mine quake struck the Mojave Desert in 1999

    • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Friday July 05 2019, @01:26AM (6 children)

      by Gaaark (41) on Friday July 05 2019, @01:26AM (#863310) Journal

      The war to end all wars, wasn't: but it's over.

      Trump is President!

      Hot girls don't want to go with you to your parents basement.

      --
      --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
      • (Score: 3, Funny) by khallow on Friday July 05 2019, @02:33AM (3 children)

        by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Friday July 05 2019, @02:33AM (#863325) Journal

        Trump is President!

        Speaking of that, I'm starting to see some US currency bills stamped with pro-Trump phrases such as "MAGA". One particularly cruel one has circled the building on the reverse side of the twenty - it's an engraving of the White House and announces underneath "Trump lives here." Needless to say, these go straight to the bank rather than get handed to guests who won't even start to cope with the Trump presidency until some time after he leaves office.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @05:05AM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @05:05AM (#863757)

          Yeah, I got one of those stamped bills in change at the market about a week ago. Gave it back to the cashier who put it under the register tray (where $100 bills are also stashed).

          Is it legal to deface US currency?

          • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @07:48AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @07:48AM (#863777)

            Why don't you read the laws to find out?

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @04:36PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @04:36PM (#863858)

          Write www.wheresgeorge.com on it and register the serial# on that website. You can track where the money goes.

      • (Score: 4, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 05 2019, @02:58AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 05 2019, @02:58AM (#863334)

        Hot girls don't want to go with you to your parents basement.

        That's all right, that one is full with cold ones anyway.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 07 2019, @06:31PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 07 2019, @06:31PM (#864181)

        That's because she wants you to go to her parents basement...

    • (Score: 2, Disagree) by Username on Friday July 05 2019, @04:50AM

      by Username (4557) on Friday July 05 2019, @04:50AM (#863363)

      Yeah, I kinda remember a quake in japan that was strong enough to break a nuclear reactor.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 05 2019, @09:19AM (5 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 05 2019, @09:19AM (#863421)

      No.
      The Richter scale is obsolete, it was an earthquake of magnitude 6.4.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 05 2019, @01:14PM (4 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 05 2019, @01:14PM (#863469)

        It's logarithmic.

    • (Score: 2) by SomeGuy on Friday July 05 2019, @12:36PM

      by SomeGuy (5632) on Friday July 05 2019, @12:36PM (#863460)

      Nothing 'breaking', not notable enough for 'news', WTF?

      Probably a lot of submissions because it has been all over the TV news. They show the three or four places where something got badly damaged and then act like the entire city was leveled. Some even pulled out stock footage from previous quakes because there was not enough damage to show.

      At least it was a change from the usual tree falling, drooling sack of consumertard shit shooting some other consumertard for their new $1000 smart phone ("the new one has Siirrriiii!"), or some twat spewing dumb shit on that mindless Twitter web site. (especially some dork named Trump - that can't possibly be the president? A President of the United States has no business posting on such a private web site, especially one so juvenile. Right?)

      Just a reminder from the friendly TV news that you have to be SCARED! And don't forget to buy a new powerful smart phone and install our FREE weather/news app so you can get instant updates because you must have instant updates or you are a BAD PERSON!.

  • (Score: 0, Troll) by Entropy on Friday July 05 2019, @04:14AM (4 children)

    by Entropy (4228) on Friday July 05 2019, @04:14AM (#863355)

    Right?

    • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 05 2019, @04:55PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 05 2019, @04:55PM (#863534)

      Of course it is! Now eat your bug-burger goy.

    • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 05 2019, @08:00PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 05 2019, @08:00PM (#863608)

      No, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and torrential rains and flooding are a sign of a grand solar minimum.

    • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @12:38PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @12:38PM (#863796)

      They certainly do alot of that in Southern Cal.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @04:23PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @04:23PM (#863854)

      Moonquakes are, apparently. Not sure about the terrestrial variety.

  • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 05 2019, @04:32AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 05 2019, @04:32AM (#863358)

    Not part of the United States, based on their lack of interest in the Constitution. So no cares given.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @05:49PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @05:49PM (#863875)

      I agree. California and New York can break off and float into the ocean for all i care.

  • (Score: 0, Redundant) by Some call me Tim on Friday July 05 2019, @04:40AM (3 children)

    by Some call me Tim (5819) on Friday July 05 2019, @04:40AM (#863361)

    I guarantee you no one in Chico felt this. Unless they were in Searles Valley at the time of the quake.

    --
    Questioning science is how you do science!
    • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday July 05 2019, @09:06PM

      by bob_super (1357) on Friday July 05 2019, @09:06PM (#863636)

      On a Fourth of July, half of the people living in the Mojave area are probably either drunk, fucking, or both, and might not have noticed a quake until a broken window brought in the 100F heat (10:30AM, maybe only 94).

      I'm 140 miles away and I felt it. Chico, 360 miles away, is quite a stretch, though. Was probably a Harley or a dump truck going down the street.

    • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Saturday July 06 2019, @09:18AM (1 child)

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday July 06 2019, @09:18AM (#863780) Journal

      Don't say "no one". If you were to canvas the area, some few sensitive souls probably felt it. Have you never been in a group of people, and one or two of them ask, "What was that?" The group collectively dismisses it, but later learns there was an earth tremor or a quake. I'm more sensitive to it than some, less sensitive than others, so I've been "that guy" a couple of times. Other times, I was part of the group who wasn't sure, or didn't believe it, until I saw it on the news.

      • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Saturday July 06 2019, @10:19AM

        by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Saturday July 06 2019, @10:19AM (#863783) Homepage
        Case in point, the only quake I've ever felt. In 2004 everyone in the office felt a 4.7 quake (with a "was I the only one who felt something?" afterwards, so we know everyone did feel it) in southern Poland, _well_ over 1000km away from where we were in Lohja, Finland.
        --
        Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 05 2019, @07:39PM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 05 2019, @07:39PM (#863596)

    As the Earth's surface heats up it is creating an imbalance in the heat, and thus pressure, equilibrium between the lithosphere and the asthenosphere. The heating is causing increasing expansion which in turn is driving tectonic pressure and resulting in an increasing tertiary pressure which is creating a directional force that's indirectly acting upon the plates at an increasing and alarming rate. If we don't do something now it's entirely possible that this dynamic could drive increasing seismic activity. Some models [noaa.gov] are showing richter scale 8 quakes becoming part and parcel of life by the end of this century if nothing is done! Everything I just said is fake. The point being that people should be skeptical of correlation paired with elegant sounding causal mechanics (not to say my off the cuff gobbledygook above is elegant) which are, upon examination, wildly speculative, untestable, and - most importantly - unfalsifiable. Numerous climate organizations have provided various 30-year predictions. At which point, and at what differential, can we say these models are so broken as to be useless? There is none short of hell, or at least Earth, deciding to simply freeze over.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @03:11PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @03:11PM (#863830)

      It's more likely caused by failure to please Moloch. More babies need to be sacrificed at later and later ages to please him these days it seems.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @04:11PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @04:11PM (#863847)

        Do abortions count or only fully operatiional babies?.

    • (Score: 2) by PinkyGigglebrain on Saturday July 06 2019, @07:08PM (1 child)

      by PinkyGigglebrain (4458) on Saturday July 06 2019, @07:08PM (#863912)

      That is kind of a big stretch. The depth of the 7.1 was 17km. Other than the top meter at best the sub surface temperature of the Earth hasn't changed in very long time, so there is no way GW could have triggered this one due to heating of the rocks 80-120km underground. But it should be noted that the heating of the atmosphere and oceans has caused them to expand and is changing the rotational speed of the Earth by a measurable amount. Not much of velocity change but enough to some stress on the different layers of rock that make up the Earth.

      That said I really don't think GW had anything to do with this. The area had not experienced a large Earthquake in decades so it was due.

      If you live in that area, or any that is prone to natural disasters, you should make sure you have a emergency kit with at least a weeks food/water/medications in it, more if possible.

      --
      "Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
      • (Score: 2) by EvilSS on Saturday July 06 2019, @07:59PM

        by EvilSS (1456) Subscriber Badge on Saturday July 06 2019, @07:59PM (#863922)
        Found one.
  • (Score: 3, Informative) by Reziac on Saturday July 06 2019, @04:18AM (9 children)

    by Reziac (2489) on Saturday July 06 2019, @04:18AM (#863749) Homepage
    • (Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Saturday July 06 2019, @04:32AM (8 children)

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Saturday July 06 2019, @04:32AM (#863752) Journal

      Thanks. Saw 7.1 mag in Google News and came back to bump it cause why not.

      --
      [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
      • (Score: 3, Informative) by Reziac on Saturday July 06 2019, @05:40AM

        by Reziac (2489) on Saturday July 06 2019, @05:40AM (#863764) Homepage

        That's our Soylent -- always on the spot! :)

        The 7.1 had just hit the USGS chart when I was here earlier... since then a bunch more minor quakes.

        Something interesting: before the 7.1, the pattern on the map was strongly boomerang-shaped. Since then, the 'hollow' area has filled in. Wild guess that the former is the stress pattern, and the latter is just shit rolling downhill.

        --
        And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @06:21AM (6 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @06:21AM (#863771)

        Japan and Alaska have quakes that get to 9, which is about 900 times as much power. (log base 32 system)

        • (Score: 2) by Rupert Pupnick on Saturday July 06 2019, @11:36AM (2 children)

          by Rupert Pupnick (7277) on Saturday July 06 2019, @11:36AM (#863788) Journal

          It’s a log base 10 system.

          • (Score: 2, Informative) by khallow on Saturday July 06 2019, @10:15PM (1 child)

            by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Saturday July 06 2019, @10:15PM (#863952) Journal
            AC was referring to the energy (not power) release which is roughly 10^1.5 ~32 increase with each order of magnitude increase in moment. So each 1 unit step is roughly an order of magnitude increase in shaking and 30 times increase in energy released.
            • (Score: 2) by Rupert Pupnick on Sunday July 07 2019, @04:16PM

              by Rupert Pupnick (7277) on Sunday July 07 2019, @04:16PM (#864150) Journal

              There are indeed many magnitude scales of which I was not aware https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seismic_magnitude_scales [wikipedia.org]. Would be helpful if press accounts would specify, but I guess that’s expecting too much.

              An amplitude scale like Richter is easy to understand because it’s a local measurement. When you start to talk about total energy, then you need to consider not only the size of the geographical area, but also the time duration of the event, right? How does the factor of 10^1.5 account for this? It is in the link, but no explanation is offered.

              Anyone have any insight?

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @06:10PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @06:10PM (#863884)

          A weaker earthquake could cause billions of dollars of damage in California, but only thousands in Alaska.

        • (Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday July 06 2019, @09:27PM (1 child)

          by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Saturday July 06 2019, @09:27PM (#863943) Homepage

          Was just about to say this, magnitude-7 is pussy shit. I was 15 miles away from the epicenter of the magnitude 9 Mexicali quake that happened on Easter Sunday years ago, now that was fucking scary. You had water leaping out of the canals and spilling into the streets, water leaping out of swimming pools, every single fucking car alarm going off, everything inside the houses all over the floor and fucking destroyed, and even outside it felt like standing on a platform that was floating back and forth on lava.

          And I made the mistake of getting high right before the quake hit, too. The aftershocks, some of them significant in themselves, persisted for another week, and while sleeping I jumped up and prepared to run every time an aftershock hit, which was at least once per hour.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @10:05PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @10:05PM (#863951)

            I was 80 km away from epicenter of a 8.8 magnitude earthquake, barely could keep standing as i was bouncing against a wall a door and a wardrobe like a pinball marble. The floor was waving like a blanket shaked up and down and randomly sideways.

  • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @05:38AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @05:38AM (#863761)
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @04:17PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @04:17PM (#863849)

      You are going to get used to them. They will last for at least a couple of years.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @01:52PM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @01:52PM (#863806)

    We can only hope.

    And screaming as they plunge into the depths of the sea.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @02:56PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @02:56PM (#863824)

      No then they will want to move here. Skip that...

    • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @05:36PM (3 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @05:36PM (#863869)

      Such hatred, SN is gross these days. Wonder if it is tied to r/T_D getting a time out.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @05:38PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 06 2019, @05:38PM (#863870)

        It's just Lex Luthor.

      • (Score: 1, Flamebait) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday July 06 2019, @09:24PM (1 child)

        by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Saturday July 06 2019, @09:24PM (#863941) Homepage

        As a Californian, I wish this damned state would fall into the ocean. But since I know that will never happen, I'm praying to Jesus Christ that L.A. and San Francisco get nuked. I'm seeing more and more Mexicans from L.A. moving to San Diego so they can shit up this city just like they shat up L.A. with their verminous behavior.

        • (Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday July 07 2019, @05:18AM

          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Sunday July 07 2019, @05:18AM (#864035) Journal
          Why not? It's not like anyone is praying for that to not happen, right?
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