Two strong earthquakes that pierced years of seismic calm in southern California have revived fears of the "Big One" striking Los Angeles, with officials warning citizens to be prepared for further shocks.

A 7.1-magnitude quake that struck a remote region some 150 miles (240 kilometers) northeast of Los Angeles on Friday evening was felt throughout the city, prompting Angelenos to evacuate homes, bars, restaurants and movie theaters.

The quake -- which followed a 6.4-magnitude tremor the previous day -- caused only minor damage in Los Angeles such as scattered power outages. It struck on a smaller faultline not directly linked to the major San Andreas fault.

But for many in the city, it served as a powerful reminder of the realities of living on an active tectonic zone.

"Yesterday I was in shock because I realized I didn't know exactly what to do," said Cristina Alhamad, 29, mother to a one-month-old baby.

"I heard my neighbors running, screaming in the halls and I just froze because some said to stay in, others to stay out."

Alhamad said she had packed some essential items for her baby to place by the door after the first quake, but in the moment of Friday's larger shock she "just took the baby and left."

Andrea Briceno, a TV producer living in Los Angeles, told AFP she had participated in lots of drills and kept an "earthquake bag" with supplies of water and canned goods, but still found the quake scary.

"As far as a plan, I don't really have one -- just stay under the desk at the house where the backpack is," she said.

"If it's somewhere else, I wouldn't really know what to do."

- 'Great reminder' -

Politicians including presidential hopeful Senator Kamala Harris and Congresswoman Karen Bass were among those urging Californians to boost preparedness Saturday.

"This isn't a drill. Make sure you and your family are ready for the big one," said Bass on Twitter.

But prior to the first quake on Thursday, southern California had been in an "earthquake drought," with nothing measuring above 6.0 magnitude since early 2010.

Following Friday's event, Caltech seismologist Lucy Jones warned there is a 10 percent chance of another magnitude 7.0 or higher quake in the next week.

"People in southern California know that they live in earthquake country, but because they haven't experienced strong shaking in many years they become complacent," said John Bwarie, a Los Angeles-based community resilience expert.

The tremors were a "great reminder" to take action to prepare for the next major event, he said.

"This quake was further away from most Angelenos, they felt it but it wasn't damaging -- the next earthquake could be smaller but more damaging in their community."

Los Angeles officials have long prioritized earthquake resilience, especially since the 1994 Northridge quake that killed 57 people.

The "Great ShakeOut" annual drill was launched in Southern California in 2008 to raise awareness and remind people of the right actions to take during an earthquake.

By last year, 50 million people around the globe participated in the event.

Sweeping "retrofit" ordinances introduced under Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti have targeted more than 10,000 buildings for mandatory upgrades to make them safer in the event of a major quake.

- Shaken psyche -

But a 2008 survey found that, over a decade after the Northridge quake, fewer than half of Californian families had created an evacuation plan, and fewer than 20 percent had reinforced or inspected their homes, or purchased earthquake insurance.

And while the building retrofit is moving ahead, there are limits to what it can accomplish, experts warned.

"If you look at the inventory of buildings in southern California, the predominant number are not necessarily built to those modern codes," said Ken O'Dell, president of the Structural Engineers Association of California.

For a concrete building "we could have significant collapse of a building built prior" to strict codes enacted in the 1970s, he said.

Even for buildings getting the retrofits, the changes are designed to prevent deaths -- not necessarily ensure the house itself remains viable.

"We are moving as fast as we can within the understanding of our society and -- I hate to say -- a little bit of the economics," O'Dell added.

And while no major damage was reported to buildings in the region after Friday's quake, the psychological toll on people living in fear of the "Big One" was evident.

"People are going to shelters and sleeping outside, being less confident about their buildings," said O'Dell.

"People are still very uncomfortable. It's almost like our psyche has been shook more than our buildings."

Rattled nerves, minor damage from second major Southern California quake
Ridgecrest, United States (AFP) July 6, 2019 - Southern California appeared to have avoided the worst on Saturday after it was rocked by a second powerful earthquake in as many days -- a 7.1 magnitude tremor that revived fears of the so-called Big One the region has feared for decades.

No fatalities or serious injuries have been reported from this second quake, the largest in Southern California in more than two decades. It hit Friday night in a remote and sparsely populated area around 150 miles (240 kilometers) northeast of Los Angeles, where it was also felt.

But the earth's mighty twitch shook buildings, damaged roads and rattled people still jittery from a 6.4-magnitude earthquake in the same region on Thursday.

"We've never seen anything like this, this is the biggest and most impactful quake that I've ever experienced," said Victor Abdullatif, owner of a small supermarket in the Mojave desert town of Ridgecrest where the quake left wine bottles and other merchandise smashed on the floor in huge piles.

Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, a remote testing ground for military hardware, wrote on Facebook that due to the quake it was "not mission capable until further notice."

An official at China Lake had told AFP after Thursday's temblor that there was "substantial damage" to their facilities, including fires, water leaks and spills of hazardous materials.

As the second big quake hit on Friday, two news presenters live on Los Angeles TV station KCBS looked distraught and gazed up repeatedly to see if anything was falling.

"We are experiencing very strong shaking. I think we need to get under the desk," one presenter said, then did just that as the station cut to a commercial.

Hardest-hit was the town of Trona east of Ridgecrest, where between 20 and 50 buildings were damaged and the Federal Emergency Management Agency had to truck in bottles of water as water lines had been cut, county supervisor Robert Lovingood said.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Twitter that he had requested federal assistance for communities hit by the quake, and on Saturday flew to the area to inspect the damage.

However there were already signs of recovery as both Trona and Ridgecrest saw electricity restored Saturday and the state highway connecting the towns was opened after "emergency temporary repairs" to earthquake-caused cracks, the California Department of Transportation said on Twitter.

- Fears of the 'Big One' -

The latest quake was 11 times stronger than the 6.4-magnitude "foreshock" the previous day, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The two major quakes, along with multiple aftershocks, have revived fears of the "Big One" -- a powerful tremor along the San Andreas Fault that could devastate major cities in California.

"This is an earthquake sequence. These earthquakes are related," said Caltech seismologist Lucy Jones.

There was a 10 percent chance of Friday's quake being followed by another magnitude 7.0 or higher quake in the next week, she added.

Abdullatif, the shop owner, said he is holding off on cleaning up from the quake because of the warnings there could be yet more seismic activity.

"The anxiety is definitely very high," he said. "It's definitely a scary time."

Terri Brantley, who lives in a mobile home in Ridgecrest, said the quake's fury was stunning. He and his wife were in bed when it hit but they managed to get out.

"It literally picked up the house in the air, and threw it to the west about three feet," he told AFP.

"I've experienced other quakes before, many times, but nothing like this. This was absolutely terrifying," Brantley said.

- 'Scary' -

Numerous gas leaks were reported near the epicenter, including in Trona and nearby Argus, but no fires were attributed to the earthquake, the San Bernardino fire department tweeted.

There were no reports of serious damage in Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti said.

Numerous visitors to Disneyland in Anaheim said on Twitter that rides were temporarily shut for safety inspections.

Patrons at movie theaters in the Los Angeles area evacuated due to the quake.

"Everyone remained calm as the theater began to shake and then the shaking got stronger. We all headed to exits and down the stairs. No panic but one woman sobbing. This one was scary," wrote NBC journalist Lester Holt on Twitter.

In Las Vegas, 150 miles east of the quake, an NBA summer league game was postponed when the tremor hit, causing the scoreboard and several overhead speakers to sway.

The earthquake was the largest in California since 1992, when a 7.2-magnitude quake struck Cape Mendocino on a remote stretch of the state's northern coast.

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Southern California rocked by strongest quake in two decades
Los Angeles (AFP) July 5, 2019
Southern California was rocked by its largest earthquake in two decades on Thursday, a 6.4-magnitude tremblor that caused "substantial damage" at a military facility but otherwise only minor injuries in the sparsely populated area. The shallow quake, followed by dozens of aftershocks, struck in the Mojave Desert six miles (10 kilometers) from the small city of Ridgecrest at 10:33 am (1733 GMT). It was felt 160 miles away in Los Angeles and even as far afield as Las Vegas in the neighboring stat ... read more