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Subscribe to RSSA moderate earthquake – the largest to hit the Los Angeles area in years – was felt as far south as San Diego. NBC's Brian Williams reports.
A moderate earthquake shook a wide area of Southern California on Monday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The temblor struck at 9:55 a.m. PT in a remote, mountainous area northeast of San Diego and was estimated to be magnitude 4.7 (earlier reports gave it a magnitude of 5.1). The quake's center was 16 miles south of Palm Desert, Calif. There were no initial reports of damage or injuries.
Several smaller seismic events were also reported around the same time.
According to Leslie Gordon of the USGS, the initial magnitude reports are generated by computer and automatically sent out. Those reports are revised after data are reviewed by USGS seismologists.
The quake was "a little tricky to analyze" because of a small quake that preceded the larger event, said USGS seismologist Susan Hough. That threw off some of the instruments, she said, and so the depth of the quake as well as its precise epicenter and relation to known faults in the area remained unclear.
The quake was felt sharply in the local area, The Associated Press reported, and also rolled through downtown Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange County.
Some Twitter users reported that they slept through the quake, while other reported being startled awake.
Kristen Nicole (@KristenNicole25) tweeted: "Apparently there was an #earthquake in #SoCal this morning. People said they felt it in #LA... Not this girl."
Twitter user Anayeli (@iamanayeli) reported the quake woke her up in Riverside. "At least I won't be late for class!," she wrote.
Terry Raposa said on her Facebook account that she felt the quake in Lake Elsinore.
"Slam and then felt sea sick! LOL!," she wrote, NBCLosAngeles.com reported.
NBCLosAngeles.com and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story was originally published on Mon Mar 11, 2013 1:14 PM EDT
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5.1 /yawn. You East Coasters need not bother reporting these small quakes. =D
Need a larger quake so Nevada is on the shoreline.
Why is this news? 5.1 then downgraded. center in desert. no damage. Where is the news here?
@Another.........I wouldn't want to pollute the Pacific.
not yet
Must be GWB fault...
Need a sink-hole for the a-holes.
Just a way to stir your coffee.
This size quake might be minor to a west coast resident, however the 5.8 magnitude quake in Virginia last year did $millions in damage to buildings in Virginia and Washington D.C. I believe the Washington monument is still closed to visitors and it will be years before the National Cathedral is restored to its pre-quake condition. I read that the type of rock sub-strata in the region of this quake made the damage much more severe than would have occurred with a 5.8 in most areas of California. The west coast can be very thankful that most of their quakes are in this magnitude and that they don't cause major damage.
Well also, JK, structures here in the east aren't built with the same quake-consciousness as West Coast structures. Ironic considering that the New Madrid quake in Missouri is still the most violent recorded, IIRC...
So, it woke up the CA residents 9:55 PT (local time).
I may have to move to CA.
It would be worth a few quakes now and then to exempt myself from the 5:00 AM start of day here.
Conjuring Cat: its not just structural engineering that is different on the left coast, its also geology. The right coast has more bed rock at a relatively higher level than the left coast. This means that a 4.5 in NYC will cause more damage than a similar one in LA.
And how did we ever get information before we had tweets from twits ?
But with bedrock lower to the left, one would also expect more liquifaction in the event of a quake, wouldn't one? But in any case, there appear to be no injuries, so it all shook out all right...yeah, very bad pun...
Ya' see what really happened was Alvin Lee joined the great rock band in the heavens and they were jammimn' to welcome him home really really loud and it ROCKED the earth to the core and it started into shakin' rattlin' and rollin'...I mean really that line up there ..Hendrix , Vaughn , Gallagher , Bonham , Pappalardi , Lynott , Zappa , harrison , Lennon the 2 Kings and countless others...woh !!!let it rock!!
jona , notice the activity in the new madrid area , 4 quakes in 1 day , then research the new madrid quakes of 1812 , then research the fema exercises last yr & then maybe youll understand why all seismic activity is studied & reported. If as expected , a similar quake as to the one of 1812 , would throw this nation into total anarchy . It would do irreparable damage to all infrastructures. The greatest share of refineries are in the southern area of the new madrid area & illinois (northern end of new madrid) with more nuclear reactors than any other state would be damaged . Having been thru the alaskan earthquake in 63 or 64 , i would hate to see what a similar magnitude quake in the new madrid would cause. The plate is larger & area effected would be on a scale off the charts. In 1812 , it rang church bells in maine & cracked sidewalks & streets in wash dc. I was reading of the projected damage to life & property in a fema report & the report started to talk of the life lost & gave some large reported loss & then as the report went onto buildings damaged , again , reports were serious & then as reports went onto refineries & nuclear plants , the report just kinda ended , almost like it sunk in that we are in no way prepared for such an event. Gas & diesel would be an unpurchaseable commodity , hence , no food deliveries , power blackouts would be a certainty . Ask anyone that remembers the rolling blackouts of the 90's & now the infrastructure is even more antiquated . A severe load on any surviving power grid would shut it down & render it useless. Imagine the state of the gulf durring katrina & magnify that a hundred times & youll begin to get the picture.
Ban earthquakes
ProFreedom -
If Al Gore were President, it would already have been done.
Ban RWNJ's.
This size quake is a pretty routine occurrence here in SoCal. It certainly is not worthy of being a top of the page story on a news site. This size quake does not even cause people to stop what they are doing, they simply shrug their shoulders and go on with their business.
TO: COYOTEHUNTER who wrote:
Ha! Funny.
We have enough Fault Lines where it sure would be funny to name one after him.
It sure fits.
As it so happens, Mom is in SoCal watching my Nieces and Nephew while their folks are out of town. I am glad this makes the News Page, as it is better to know than not.
At least some of us appreciate real news that is not cataclysmic, yet topically informative. For all making Cali In The Sea comments, or tying in Political horse phooey, your slips are showing...as usual.
Peace
Must be bho's fault.
(((-;
TO: JS in SD who wrote:
Even a 4.7 is pretty scary and you can feel it pretty hard if you're anywhere near it. It feels like the earth is coming up through the floor of the house in big giant pieces.
No matter how severe the earthquake we have no choice but to shrug it off anyway, what else can we do?
You do realize the SyFy channel is going to make about 8 new movies because of this, don't you? It seems to be their new theme: Snowstorm? Pump out a bunch of snow-pocalypse movies! Quake in California? Yep! It's time for a bunch of quake-pocalypse movies! I've been waiting for the fresh batch of bug movies, actually, since there was a report of an attack by 'Killer Bees' in the news recently. And Summer's coming - time for more 'shark-octopus-name-a-denizen-of-the-sea' attack movies. LOL!!
How many bad sequels have they made to "Lake Placid", anyway? They need to keep going, they still haven't topped "Children of the Corn"...
Ripley...
Bet you the next run of Sy-Fy movies will be about sinkholes, maybe leading to a lost Mayan civilization in the center of the Earth, who have mind control over killer bees that they use as guards.
(Give me time, I'll work in the sharks and octopus, maybe with a hero penguin.)
American Girl - Yeah CA has the San Andreas and the Hayward, and the San Jacinto faults. Now the Red States can have the George Bush Fault, - runs Texas to North Dakota.
I felt it. It was minor. What's the big deal? What I really want to know is what those lazy kids were doing in bed at 10 in the morning.
Yes, exactly what I thought inMYday and ZapMeDown, who was sleeping at 9:55am, much less slept THROUGH it at that time?
I suppose there are posers out there thinking they are celeb-u-rocker-actor-types that are up 'til dawn, but don't get your hopes up for CA lazy wake up times. I'm here in So Cal and I was up at 4:30 this morning.
Completely trivial event by CA standards. Find some real news to cover. How are the Kardashians doing? Smoke signals from the vatican? Jodi Arias?
Either by deportation or earthquake, GOD is gonna get those illegals out of the US.
God doesn't give a horse's patoot.
Bubbling up earthquakes, from Baja California to the northern California, but extending from the center near southern California, the north east of Palomar Mountain, it is just the minor quakes but it has many per day, and it has not been dying down, but somehow getting more, to central California and then to northern California, meaning we still have time to prepare. When quake comes, one should know what to do.
TO: Billie-2352729 who wrote:
lol
About all we can do is try to run somewhere where nothing can fall on top of you, or out from under you.
Earthquakes give me such a feeling of helplessness. All you can do is sit there and wait and see what happens.
It's something we can't do a darn thing about, and something we cannot control.
There is one thing that California could have done and should do, that is be financially sound to recover from a quake or any disaster for that matter. If it does come, they will have to go begging the feds for money. And guess what, the feds may not have it......................
Earthquakes in California, and sinkholes in Florida. With all the drilling and mining and pumping out of water, gas and oil, add fracking to the list, and you can see that we are creating voids under the Earth's crust that can only lead to collapse and destruction. I have no answers, just making a point.
pretty lame point
Earthquakes have been around long before modern man. Maybe the cavemen were fracking it up.
Ben your point is right and also water levels are down because they are also filling the voids of the oceans of oil they have raped from the earth
makes me wonder ?
you must be one that doesn't have a car or any other type of equipment that runs off of oil. thank you for being a hypocrit they rape the oil that you use everyday dumas$
At one point we had the Ice Age and then came oceans. Guess what, there was global warming back then and no polution, no gas guzzling cars, no big populace. So your point?
JobSeeker -
WTF? So, because the earth quakes every now and then on its own, we should continue to weaken it structurally (from our point of view, anyway)?
I mean, this is just like, "Well, global warming or cooling or whatever was gonna happen anyway, let's speed it up! Get another SUV and burn more gas, people!"
I'm not saying that we should abandon the entirety of our power infrastructure. But, @!$%#s like you are definitely holding back on the more important discoveries and capabilities that could relieve the CO2 production to more environmentally sound options. You're also robbing the political will by turning science into politics. You're also standing around with your head buried
in the sandup your ass and hoping somebody with a brain will come along and save you, despite your inherent stupidity and your willful ignorance and your lambasting, pompous, arrogant attitude.Nothing really to say to that, except get bent.
Ben and Jan,
I doubt the pumping out of water, frac'ing, petroleum exploration or other things you mentioned have much to do with tectonic-activity earthquakes in CA, one way or the other. I'm guessing neither of you have a lot of knowledge of geology.
inMYday, there is no such thing as making something of no effect , when you weaken a plate in 1 area , the plates on either side are effected , this is not only common sense , it is basic physics & geology, go boil a cpl eggs & play around with cracking them & exerting pressure to 1 area & watch the results
Uncle Ben, if you're going to use sinkholes and reference drilling at least get one that is applicable: the sink hole in Bayou Corne, LA. Just google "Bayou Corne, LA sinkhole" and you'll have a wonderful reading experience and then try to wonder why 350 families being relocated for 7 months now hasn't hit national news.
You too inMYday... you might just get to learn something new.
And btw inMYday, you might while you're reading new things take a look at the testimony last week of a geologist in the BP drilling trial and try to understand what he was saying viz-a-viz the Deepwater Horizon drilling too close to the fault where a tremor had occurred only months before the disaster.
Oh really? And who/how has any plate been "weakened"?
Frakking...
To borrow from a Battlestar Galactica goof - "I don't think you people realize that word doesn't mean what you think it means..." ;-)
gumps , that was my post & a simple research on fracking & seismic activity in northeastern ohio , also in utah , really , dont you read any other news than mslsd?
here gumps , il help
Barbara Forney’s Christmas tree was flattened on Saturday afternoon in her West Akron house.
“It was like someone pushed it down,” the 79-year-old woman said.
It had been standing by the fireplace in her living room until an earthquake tied to injection wells near Youngstown rumbled across Northeast Ohio.
The 4.0-magnitude quake was centered near Youngstown, reported the U.S. Geological Survey and the Ohio Earthquake Information Center.
The earthquake at 3:05 p.m. was felt as far away as Michigan, Ontario, Pennsylvania and New York, reported Michael C. Hansen, state geologist and coordinator of the Ohio Seismic Network, part of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Geological Survey.
The quake was “a pretty good-sized one,” he said.
There were no initial reports of injuries or major damage, he said.
The quake was the 11th over the last eight months in Mahoning County, all within two miles of the injection wells, he said. Saturday’s quake was the largest yet.
A quake on Dec. 24 measured 2.4.
There is “little doubt” that the quake is linked to injection wells that the state and the owner agreed on Friday to shut down, Hansen said.
James Zehringer, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, announced the closing of two injection wells in Youngstown Township owned by Northstar Disposal Services LLC and operated by D&L Energy Inc.
The order to close came despite the fact that the state has been unable to prove that the wells, which are 9,000 feet deep, are the cause of the earthquakes.
The wells were used to dispose of salty brine wastes from gas and oil drilling by pumping them under pressure into rock formations deep underground.
The wells are among 177 in Ohio. Drilling wastes from Ohio and Pennsylvania are being pumped in increasing volumes into the wells for permanent disposal.
Geologists have long suspected that injecting liquids into underground rock formations can trigger earthquakes along fault lines. The liquids allow rocks to flow more easily past each other.
Earthquakes have been linked to injection wells in Arkansas, West Virginia, Colorado and Texas.
The Ohio closing order took effect at 5 p.m. Friday but there would still have been pressure inside the two wells that could have triggered the quake, Hansen said.
The latest quake appears to have been located about two- thirds of a mile from the injection wells and about 1.2 miles below ground, he said.
This quake shows all the similarities of the 10 previous Youngstown quakes in 2011, he said.
Ohio also worked with scientists from Columbia University who had installed four seismographs near the site.
The first two Youngstown earthquakes occurred on March 17 and measured 2.1 and 2.6.
The state became suspicious of the injection wells after the initial quakes, which are unusual events in the Youngstown area, he said.
Earthquakes smaller than 4.0 generally do little damage. A 4.0-magnitude quake would release 40 times the energy of a 2.7 magnitude quake.
Forney rode out the quake sitting on her couch.
She and friends were puzzled by what had happened. “We wanted to know: What is this?” she said. “What’s going on? We didn’t know. We just felt the trembling.”
Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.
STIM, there are different types of earthquakes and "seismic events."
Shallow quakes from wells are not the same thing as the movement of tectonic plates along a fault. Quakes with magnitude up to 4.7 are not much of a concern.
As far as the other posters' drivel arguing against my prior post, go get some higher education.
stimulationsolutions, is that your source for your assertion that a tectonic place in California was "weakened"? I think it's people like you that provided the inspiration for the old bumper sticker that said: "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance!"
inMYday , i am extremely aware of differing seismic events & i am also EXTREMELY AWARE THAT plates fault lines in center of US are basically indeterminate in size & depth , these are not like fault lines where ground upheaval or cracks are visually noticeable , if you research , youll find that even experts in the field will inform you that the best they can give is guestimates as to length or depth of fault lines , that is why youll see they have the new madrid going from the gulf & ending in northern states , when any geologist will tell you that ALL fault lines run to the next intersecting fault line & as for saying that a shallow fault or crack isnt to be considered , imagine a small crack in any brick or concrete structure , any pressure event that causes a shift will have deeper implications than the previous crack , please , you go study some more
no gumps , that is not what im saying , i was responding to a post by inMYday , that fracking has no effect on seismic activity & gumps , please , try to follow the thread before calling another poster ignorant as it only reveals yours. My assertion is that as 1 fault shifts , it has a direct effect on other plates , same way that vacuums are filled . this is referred to as cause & effect, you can get a good example watching ice flows on a river to understand how 1 sheet of ice rides over to or under or displaces another sheet of ice, 1 sheet or section of ice moving can & usually will have an effect miles downstream,,,,, inMyday& gumps , please try & keep up.
thank you
i will try 1 more time to enlighten you gumps & inMYday , but it will be my last attempt , as only a fool argues with a fool & a man convinced against his will , is of the same opinion still .the evidence of my assertion are aftershocks. I never said the effect in the cause & effect is immediate. After a seismic event , pressure is changed & where force is lessened , smaller sections of a plate are free to move/relax/shift , also pressure will be put on another section of a plate which can be realized very soon after the initial effect & sometimes it may take a yr or longer, this is what i mean when i say , any shift or weakening or change in force cannot be "of no effect", these are aftershocks , but they can & will be a contributing factor in future earthquakes ,,,, class is over , good day ppl.
stimulationsolutions, perhaps you should give up trying to sound like a geologist.
Lets hope there is minimal damage only...
Oh no! The earth is doing something we don't like, quick, confiscate 100% of all humanities' capital and force every man, woman and child into slavery, all to solve this gigantic problem!
The environmentalists say so!
Quick! Stick your head into a hole in the ground. The RWNJs say so.
And don't forget to blame it on O'Bummer and the libtards!...
Like you can do anything about earthquakes bigbadbob?
If you think you can you are a special kind of arrogant fool.
@Conjuring and BigBadBob: You're a pair of ignorant libs who haven't got a clue. Your first reaction: It's all about politics! NO libturds... it's about the freaking tectonic plates... and there's a miniscule impact that drilling can do... Compare that to underground atomic bomb testing if you want a potential impact on tectonic plate movement..
Oh, and 'doing something' just to make yourself feel good is not good enough reason to force the world to suffer.
Self righteous blathering still doesn't make good policy.
Oh, I get it--it's commercial break time on Fox "News", right Tony?...
Well at least you guys have repeated that tired old retort long enough to learn how to spell FOX correctly.
Which is more than they can say, willikers...
We say quit @!$%#ing up everything precious to Life in the name of Profit. And quit using War as a means to advance those Profits at the Costs of Our Troops Lives and National Financial Security. The Fear Factor is just that. Who will you lay your Hate on next?
You prove you feel differently. Great. Would have never guessed...
Now, go clean your guns.
TO: Tony D-373561 who wrote:
Geez, can folks have a little fun sometimes?
Lighten up there wacko.
Wow. Some nastiness on here once again, I see. Why call names???????
See, AGirl, only Tealibanis are allowed to have that kind of fun...
I never realized 'fun' was such a political attack centerpiece. I guess I need to lighten up...
(-;
It was just the locals doing the Harlem Shake.
Maybe Hollywood needs a reality check.
All that money won't hold their palaces upright when the big one hits.
Don't worry we have money to rebuild.
Then how come you have an 8 billion dollar deficit?
TO: golliegeewillikers22 who wrote:
We do?
Brown's Tax Boost Mends California Deficits, Analyst Says ...
www.bloomberg.com/.../2012.../brown-s-tax-boost-mends-california...Cached
Nov 15, 2012 – California's chronic budget shortfalls that hobbled the most populous U.S. state for a decade may give way to surpluses thanks to voter ...
Jerry Brown: California's deficitis gone - SFGate
www.sfgate.com/.../Jerry-Brown-California-s-deficit-is-gone-418337...Cached
Jan 10, 2013 – Jerry Brown: California's deficit is gone ... to guide the state out of its financial crisis, and on Thursday he delivered a budget without a deficit.
Jerry Brown's second act: With California budget balanced, what now? www.csmonitor.com/.../2013/.../Jerry-Brown-s-second-act-With-Calif...Cached
Who to believe?
AmericanGirl - He saw it on Fox/Breitbart/Blaze, et al. Or one of these:
The 50 Most Popular Conservative Websites | Right Wing News
So pardon his inadequacies. He is impaired and addicted to such drivel.
How long before obama blames it on the Sequester? How long before all of Hollywood and the other liberal idiots agree with him?
About as long as it takes for the Tealibanis to blame it on Obama...
Sleep it off.., jackass
How long before you idiots find someone else to vilify with your pointless hatred?
It's already happening Navyvet... note the stupidity coming from left field!
Which isn't a patch on a rat's tochis compared to the stupidity coming from right field, Tony boy...
@twodogs,probably not as long as you blaming Bush for everything under the sun,moon,and stars.
TO: golliegeewillikers22 who wrote:
Well, if George "Curveball" Bush had stood up and been a man, and took "responsibility" for his f-ups then maybe it wouldn't have been so bad.
But since the tiny little pea brain couldn't handle the pressure of what he alone did, then to hell with him.
It is so funny to watch the RWNJ's keep saying the things they have repeated more than anyone else.
Calling President Obama a 'Messiah' is a fine example of the pure blatherings that only the Right chooses to make up themselves and then accuse the Lefties of inventing. I have never heard the Left calling Obama a 'Messiah'. I sure as Hell do not believe he is one.
In fact, my problem with Obama is that he concedes to the Republicans as though he is actually one of them!! Kept going with all the Previous Admins Policies and Wars, Tax Breaks and Enviro Destruction, Passed Drilling in the Artic, no regs on Fracking, and continues to vacation almost as much as his predecessor. Passed a flawed but initial attempt to curb Health Care Crisis in this Country(needs to be revisited, not repealed). Gun Sales/Profits have gone thru the roof.
However, the National Debt is falling, despite your Rhetoric, we are leaving the Wars(one under the W Bush timeline, the other not fast enough), and he is at least trying to prevent the spread of drilling into National Parks, I believe.
Gas/Oil Subsidies persist.
So he is a Socialist/Moderate Republican. And you idiots cannot stand nor see that. Baaaa
Get a grip.
You're right, I'll always have no respect for him because he didn't have the cojones to go to Viet Nam, had daddy get him out of it, then when his brother got him elected prez by cheating in Florida, he started a war of his own that totally ruined 2 countries. Obama didn't do any of those things.
So? We get these all the time. This one was not worth a mention on national news.
Kind of makes me miss SoCal, lived in OC early 80's. What a time to be there. Laguna, Newport and Hunington Beaches. Sometimes drive to Santa Monica.
Palm Desert? Ooh, shake and bake!
TO: underemployed who wrote:
You're darn tootin', that's Palm Springs.
By the way, did you know that 100% of all the water in Palm Springs is "spring" water? Even the toilet water is spring water.
Every bit of water that runs in Palm Springs is fresh spring water. Faucits, water fountains, swimming pools, everything that has running water is pure fresh spring water.
Amazing.
Here--I'll save a Tealibani some typing and...
"Ban earthquakes!"
So y'all can all go on to the next thread...
There used to be a joke in Southern California that "Every stomach rumble is a quake for many East Coasters". 4.7 magnitude is not a quake...it is a minor tremor!
But the big one is coming. Remember the movie "2012"? They really meant 2013! :))
Earthquake season again already?
Christ, We get them in New England! Boston Flee Parties!
I didn't notice it.
TO: dave-sunny so.cal who wrote:
Me either.
It was very small and lasted about 5 seconds. I felt it though.
People are still at less risk out there from earthquakes, as are people from 'the Heartland' due to icy roads.
enjoy
Since when was the country so politically divided? Every story brings up the topic of politics.
It's just that all the A-holes can now express themselves on line.
Ain't it grand ?
Since about the middle of November 2008....
Hank was right and PValdes proved his point perfectly. The story can be about a cure for cancer and some people will make all types of political and racist statements. The internet gives them a daily outlet for their hatred and ignorance. Before they would just have to wait for the monthly meeting.
I believe it started when a black man was elected president. The RWNJ's will deny that vigorously, but they really aren't fooling anybody except themselves.
I wonder how much Federal aid will be required. This State voted for Obama so they will want billions
Sinkholes in Florida .....Earthquakes in California ......Its the apocalypse !!!!
Can't speak for Florida, but an earthquake here in California just means it's day that ends in y
Strange, every female at our business came running out of their offices and started gabbing on about the earthquake, and not a single one of the guys even felt it. More evidence that guys have no feelings, i guess.
A 4.7 depending how close you are located to it will rattle your nerves but the rolling aftershocks are neat.If you are outside during the rolling it's like asphalt surfing.I've lived through three of the bigger ones but the best thing is that the freeways and roads suddenly become desserted.Back in the 1980's I had the 10 freeway eastbound from Alhambra to San Bernardino all to myself with the exception of a couple semis.The best commute I ever did.
No wonder there's an obesity problem - people eating freeways and roads!
@cleaning lady:that wasn't an earthquake,that was a miracle!
I'm still anxiously awaiting the Big One--the day the earth swallows up all the 'Real Housewives' and Kardashians and the 30 million dollar Malibu mansions slide into the sea.
Plenty more where they came from.
I'm in beautiful Ventura and didn't feel a thing.
You realize that could be misinterpreted in a number of ways, of course... ;-)
We felt it, but we have a "zillion" a day so we are used to them.
http://quakes.globalincidentmap.com/