An earthquake hit San Diego and communities 100 miles east Monday night with a magnitude of 4.2 on the Richter scale. Experts seemed to think that these earthquakes would slow down and lower in magnitude. Click below to read more.
Earthquakes are unpredictable, according to U.S. Geological Survey Geophysicist Shengzao Chen, and prior to the 7 p.m. quake, a slowing seemed to be in effect with most of Monday’s temblors under magnitude-2.5, and occurring in intervals of no greater than 30 minutes.
On Sunday, a swarm of earthquakes shook Imperial County on Sunday and were felt in surrounding counties. Most were minor, but two registered at magnitude-5.5 and magnitude-5.3.
Scientists say the aftershocks and jolts could last for days.
The quakes pushed 20 mobile homes at a trailer park off their foundations, rendering them uninhabitable, said Maria Peinado, a spokeswoman for the Imperial County Emergency Operations Center. A red-tile roof apparently collapsed and landed on a wooden fence.
Sporadic power outages, at one point affecting 2,500 Imperial Irrigation District customers, also prompted authorities to evacuate 49 patients from one of the county’s two hospitals, Peinado said. Police also received numerous calls about gas leaks and water line breaks.
No injuries were reported in the region, which has a long history of such earthquake swarms.
