Earthquake Shakes Southern California

A moderately large earthquake shook Southern and Baja California today. The main shock, which was initially reported at magnitude-5.9 before being downgraded slightly to 5.8, has been followed by more than 20 aftershocks.

The epicenter of the earthquake was in northern Baja California. Thus, it should rightly be called the Baja earthquake, the Calexico earthquake, or the Mexicali earthquake. but reports have also been calling it the Yuma earthquake,

The main earthquake was enough to cause buildings in southern California, as far away as 100 miles away in downtown San Diego and southwestern Arizona, to sway. The jolt was centered about 20 miles southeast of the Mexican border city of Mexicali, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

On the U.S. side of the border from Mexicali, Calexico City Manager Victor Carrillo said were no injuries or significant property damage. Calexico has a population of 40,000 people.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the border, Mexicali is an industrial center of about 750,000 people. It is also the capital of the state of Baja California.

Carrillo said, "Basically it was a quick, shake-and-bake, jolt-type of thing that seemed to last 15, 20 seconds, 30 seconds at the max. I have quite a few items on the shelves in my office and they're all intact."

Written by Michael Santo
HULIQ.com