Strong and shallow M6.4 earthquake hits Southern California, numerous aftershock shaking the region

A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.4 hit Central California at 17:33 UTC (10:33 local time) on July 4, 2019. The agency is reporting a depth of 8.7 km (5.4 miles). EMSC is reporting M6.4 at a depth of 2 km (1.2 miles). At least 160 aftershocks were registered by 08:12 UTC, July 5, 2019.

The epicenter was located 12 km (7.5 miles) NE of Searles Valley, 13 km (8.1 miles) ENE of Trona, 18 km (11.2 miles) WSW of Ridgecrest and 100 km (62 miles) SSE of Barstow, California.

There are about 88 000 people living within 100 km (62 miles).

42 000 people are estimated to have felt very strong shaking, 4 000 strong, 4 000 moderate and 21 847 000 light.

The USGS issued a green alert for shaking-related fatalities. There is a low likelihood of casualties.

A yellow alert was issued for economic losses. Some damage is possible and the impact should be relatively localized. Estimated economic losses are less than 1% of GDP of the United States. Past events with this alert level have required a local or regional level response.

Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are resistant to earthquake shaking, though vulnerable structures exist. The predominant vulnerable building types are unreinforced brick masonry and reinforced masonry construction.

Recent earthquakes in this area have caused secondary hazards such as landslides and liquefaction that might have contributed to losses.

Image credit: Google, TW/SAM. Data provider USGS​​

Estimated population exposure to earthquake shaking

Selected cities exposed

Regional seismicity

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