Several aftershocks greater than magnitude-3.0 followed earthquake near Ojai, about 80 miles northwest of Los Angeles on the same day a tropical storm hit Southern California for the first time in decades.
Earthquake, hurricane, I guess locust are going to be a Wednesday thing?
I was going to be pissed if we had a major quake while it’s pouring outside, but it was pretty gentle here.
The magnitude-5.1 earthquake at 2:41 p.m. startled Southern Californians who were already braced for the remnant of Hurricane Hilary, which had already brought hours of steady rain during the region’s driest month of the year. There were at least a dozen aftershocks of magnitude-3.0 or greater.
The earthquake was centered about four miles southeast of Ojai, about 80 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
Aren’t 5.1 quakes somewhat common there?
Eh, kinda?
In California generally? Sure; you get a jolt every 1-2 years. Typically they’re over within seconds; you have enough time to register that an earthquake is happening and that it isn’t your imagination, then it ends. A really big one will go on for about a minute or two before it stops; last time we had one of those was back in 2019. Usually they last less than 30 seconds.
This specific area isn’t typically the epicenter of many earthquakes, though. They’re usually to the west (San Andreas Fault) or to the south (San Gabriel Fault, San Jacinto Fault).
When it rains it pours. (And earthquakes, apparently.)
I thought going outside during an earthquake was the wrong thing to do.
You don’t want things falling on you. Having nothing above you kinda negates all that danger. Absent that, being in a sturdy structure is best. In California, most structures are built to withstand quakes.
“Tropical earthquakes” are a thing. Look it up.
