Earthquake Swarm Felt Throughout Inland Empire
Residents of Riverside county might be feeling like they’re living on shaky ground. An earthquake swarm rattled the region on Sunday and continued into the early hours of Monday.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the temblors were felt throughout the Inland Empire, with earthquake numbers up into the hundreds over the weekend.
Seismologist Lucy Jones tweeted that the area was something of a “perennial hotspot,” noting that even small earthquakes can be felt if they’re shallow enough.
“This is the Fontana trend – a perennial hotspot of small quakes, including a M3.1 in Jan 2018 and a M3.6 in July 2018. And when it has quakes, they are usually in clusters like this. In other words, ordinary, common California quakes,” she wrote on Twitter.
The recent earthquake swarm comes on the heels of the USGS’s report that California’s “earthquake drought” is predicted to come to an end moving into the next decade. Scientists are predicting much more seismic activity – in higher magnitudes – from the San Andreas fault, in addition to faults like the Hayward or the Newport-Inglewood.
“Earthquake rates are quite variable: We have a decade or two where we don’t have many earthquakes, and people expect that’s what California is always like,” Elizabeth Cochran, seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey told the L.A. Times. “[Eventually] we’re going to dramatically see a change in earthquake rates.”
Luckily, scientists have gotten much better at identifying these earthquake swarms and detecting warning signs like foreshocks and clusters, which occur before a larger quake.
While the recent earthquake swarm is nothing out of the ordinary for California it’s important, that as a resident of the Golden State, you’re prepared for the inevitable “Big One.”
“If we had earthquakes as frequently as we had prior to 1906 within the last 50 years, people would be a lot more in tune with what earthquakes can do, and have a lot more interest in earthquake preparedness,” Tim Dawson, senior engineering geologist at the California Geological Survey, said.
As we head into this next period of (anticipated) increased earthquake activity, it’s important as a California resident to take the proper precautions for earthquake survival and safety.
Julian De La Torre is an expert in Los Angeles foundation inspection, foundation contractors, earthquake retrofitting, and foundation repair. Julian’s company, Julian Construction, has inspected over 15,000 structures, working with engineering firms and local departments of building & safety. The company has done more foundation repair and earthquake retrofitting in Los Angeles than any other company in the area over the last five years.
