Series of 5 earthquakes strike California in 18 hours
A series of five earthquakes struck California within a span of 18 hours on Tuesday, with at least three of them reported near the small town of Cabazon in Southern California, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
Two small earthquakes were reported just before 5 am (8 am ET) on Tuesday, within minutes of each other in the city of nearly 4,000 residents, about 45 miles east of the Los Angeles suburb.
According to the USGS, the first temblor was measured at 4.5 magnitude, while the other one was at 3.2 magnitude. Residents from San Diego to Santa Clarita reported that they felt the first quake on Tuesday.
The agency said that shortly after the first two quakes, it noted a third tremblor of 2.5 magnitude which struck a few miles south of the epicenter of the first two earthquakes. The third quake occurred at around 10 am (1 pm ET).
There were no immediate reports of damage.
According to a Southern California Seismic Network report, the USGS' early earthquake warning system, which is currently under development, worked as expected. The system reportedly gave scientists in Pasadena a warning about the quake nearly 26 seconds before the shaking occurred.
There were no immediate reports of damage. The US Geological Survey's earthquake early warning system under development worked as expected, giving scientists in Pasadena — about 80 miles away from the epicenter — 26 seconds of warning before the shaking arrived, according to a Southern California Seismic Network report.
Reports state that nearly 12 hours earlier than the 4.5 magnitude earthquake, two more temblors had hit opposite ends of California on Monday. The first quake, of 2.5 magnitude, occurred at around 5:39 pm (8:39 pm ET), and struck a few miles east of Ocotillo Wells, which are located 50 miles north of the Mexico border.
Just an hour after the first quake on Monday, another earthquake of 4.5 magnitude hit in the Pacific Ocean, 56 miles west of the Northern California town of Ferndale.
Reports state that all the five earthquakes hit at a depth of 7 to 10 miles, which is considered considerably shallow by seismologists.
This is the second time in over a month that the area has been struck by small quakes felt over a large region. A magnitude 5.3 earthquake centered in the Channel Islands off Santa Barbara County had recently struck the region on April 5.
Shortly after the earthquakes struck California, the residents took to Twitter to express how common the temblors have become for them.