A 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit southern California on Friday night, a day after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake shook the state, CNN reported. Multiple fires and injuries have been reported in Ridgecrest, nearly 150 miles (about 241 km) away from Los Angeles, said Kern County Spokesperson Megan Person.
Thursday’s earthquake was earlier touted as the strongest one in the region in almost 20 years, however Friday night’s quake was stronger.
The latest earthquake occurred 11 miles (nearly 17.7 km) northeast of Ridgecrest, which was the location of Thursday’s quake. The San Bernardino County Fire Department claimed to have received several reports of damage from northwest communities in the area. “Homes shifted, foundation cracks, retaining walls down,” CNN quoted the department as saying. “One injury [minor] with firefighters treating patient.”
Geologists said that the latest quake was “an earthquake sequence”, since the quake followed a 6.4-magnitude one that occurred on Thursday. Seismologist Dr Lucy Jones also tweeted about Friday’s quake. “So the M6.4 [6.4 magnitude] was a foreshock,” she said. “ This was a M7.1 (7.1 magnitude) on the same fault as has been producing the Searles Valley sequence. This is part of the same sequence.”
Nearly 3,000 residents in Ridgecrest and nearby areas have been facing power cuts, Los Angeles Times quoted power company Southern California Edison as saying.
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