A preliminary magnitude 6.4 earthquake rocked Southern California on Thursday and was widely felt around the region as many prepared to celebrate Independence Day on Thursday.
The United States Geological Survey said the preliminary 6.6 temblor hit about 10:33 a.m. and centered in the Mojave Desert in Searles Valley, about 11 miles east northeast of Ridgecrest, about 109 miles north of San Bernardino and 121 miles northeast of Los Angeles.Multiple large aftershocks rolled through the region in the minutes that followed.
The epicenter is within the sprawling Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division at China Lake, where a desert test range is located.
Thursday’s shaking, which registered in the Los Angeles area as a long, rolling motion, and lasted for at least 20 seconds. It was felt as far north as Visalia and as far south as Oceanside, according to USGS’s website.
Filmmaker Ava DuVernay tweeted that she has lived in Los Angeles all her life and it was “the longest earthquake I’ve ever experienced.”
“Not jerky. Smooth and rolling. But it was loooong. It was so long I thought for the first time ever “Is this the big one?” Damn,” DuVernay said. “Respect Mother Nature. She’s the boss.”
No injuries were immediately reported, but the San Bernardino County fire department tweeted that buildings and roads have been damaged in Trona, a remote community located about 10 miles northeast of Ridgecrest. The extent of the damages were not immediately known.
It was the second largest in the region since the catastrophic 6.6 Northridge quake devastated the region in 1994, killing dozens of people and causing billions of dollars in damages.
