5.3 Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Southern California, Epicenter East Of San Diego

Brandon Choe
·2 min read

An earthquake struck the Southern tip of California this morning and was felt in cities up to 90 miles away.

The 5.3-magnitude temblor was part of a flurry of quakes in Imperial County that were reported, according to the United States Geological Survey.

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Though earthquake clusters are not rare near this region, the quake’s strength was considered moderate. This particular group of shakes seem to have included at least 25 individual earthquakes, including the 5.3-magnitude shaker.

The earthquake’s epicenter was placed near the city of Calipatria, roughly 35 miles from the US-Mexico border.

USGS’s Twitter account noted the shake struck at 10:55 a.m. Some users on Twitter reported they felt the shake as far as San Diego and Indio.

Imperial County’s official Twitter account reported no immediate injuries or damages and are currently looking for any resulting damages.

Seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones said in a series of tweets that the 5.3-magnitude earthquake should be the biggest of the swarm and is typically not predictive of any mega quakes to come. Jones said, “as long as [the swarm] stays active, there will be more quakes and some could be large. Many of the swarms have a ~M5 as the largest. Rarely, they grow to include a M5.8-6.0.”

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