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Earthquake in Southern CaliforniaDateline: October 16, 1999 (Updated Oct. 17, 1999)
At approximately 2:46 a.m. Pacific time on Saturday, October 16 an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 on the Richter scale stuck 32 miles north of Joshua Tree, near Ludlow, California. The earthquake was named the Hector Mine Earthquake (named after a small town and mine in the region).
According to CalTech scientists, this large earthquake was not an aftershock of the 7.3 Landers/Yucca Valley Earthquake on June 28, 1992. The region is sparsely populated and located north of the suburbs of San Bernardino County.
The earthquake was felt throughout Southern California, waking people from Santa Barbara to San Diego to Las Vegas (it was felt quite stongly there) and Phoenix (Arizona).
Aftershocks
Five minutes after the 7.0, a second earthquake with a magnitude of 5.3 struck the region. There have been dozens of additional tremors of magnitude 4.0 and above, since the initial shock. The highest aftershock, a 5.8, struck at 5:57 a.m.
Damage
A 20-car Amtrack passenger train derailed (but remained upright) as it was leaving Barstow, California; only four people were injured on the train.There are few other reports of damage. Power was out and there were some gas leaks in areas throughout the Los Angeles region, especially in Orange County. The quake was felt for a full thirty to forty seconds, making it quite a long earthquake. It had a smooth, rolling motion versus a violent shaking which woke your Guide.
Regional emergency officials ensured the safety of bridges and facilities throughout Southern California.
It Woke Me Up
I'm not sure if I woke up myself or if it was my dog that woke me up. Though my dog didn't give any early signals, he did kind of grunt and get off the bed when the earthquake started. When I awoke, I felt the bed rolling. It felt as if I was on a waterbed. My wife also woke up to the earthquake. We talked through the rolling. By the time I woke up, I felt about 15 seconds of rolling. I'd place the shaking at a Mercalli intensity of IV. I'm approximately 130 miles, as the crow flies, west of the epicenter.
Links
- A map and listing of the latest quakes
- More from CNN
- Yahoo Full Coverage
- Earthquake basics and information
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