A magnitude 5.2 earthquake rocked Southern California desert communities near San Diego on Monday morning, just after 10 a.m. local time. The people who experienced the jolt spanned an enormous distance. Fortuitously, the main Julian fire station experienced no structural damage and took no service calls during the emergency. Following the large initial quake, residents were rocked by a host of aftershocks. Only minutes later, a 3.0 magnitude aftershock was rattling through Julian, closely followed by another 2.5 aftershock.
California Governor Gavin Newsom swiftly responded to the situation, receiving a briefing on the earthquake and coordinating with local responders to assess any potential damage and emergency response needs. Despite the earthquake’s strength, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported a low likelihood of damage or injuries resulting from the event.
The USGS operates a system that provides earthquake warnings through cell phone apps, the Android operating system, and wireless emergency alert systems. In a large urban area like San Diego, people would have only about 14 seconds warning before shaking started. This early warning system would have played a role in the fact that few injuries were reported immediately after the quake.
In rural Julian, local business owner Riley Ozuna said he was happy to hear it.
“But everything is OK.” – Riley Ozuna, owner of the Julian Cafe & Bakery.
This bigger earthquake hit just after a strong 3.5 magnitude shaker rattled the region at about 4 p.m. Sunday. This has led to worries that the region may face accelerated seismic risks. Nonetheless, emergency services have stayed on high alert through the tremors. One important note, officials stress, is that there haven’t been any detrimental effects from the ongoing crisis.
California is now under a wave of topographic upheaval. It’s up to residents to be vigilant and use all physical and technological resources at their disposal when it comes to earthquake safety. This report from The Associated Press was used in this story about the recent quakes in Southern California.