Ridgecrest Hit With More Than 80,000 Quakes Since July 4

Heath Williamson, from Australia, makes a video of the road cracks along Highway 178 between Ridgecrest and Trona in July 2019. (Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

by: Los Angeles Times

Posted: Jul 23, 2019 / 04:29 AM PDT

Updated: Jul 23, 2019 / 04:29 AM PDT

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More than 80,000 earthquakes have been recorded in the Ridgecrest area since July 4 — the aftermath from two of the biggest temblors to hit California in nearly a decade.

Experts said the two major quakes — the first measuring magnitude 6.4, the second 7.1 — led to a particularly energetic aftershock sequence before slowing down.

The calculation, conducted by Zachary Ross, Caltech assistant professor of geophysics, comes as the earthquake sequence has continued to lessen rapidly.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the chance of an earthquake of magnitude 7 or higher resulting from the Ridgecrest quakes is 1 in 300 — possible, but with a low probability.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.

These before-and-after GIFs were created using imagery from Google Earth and DigitalGlobe by an earthquake geologist based in Greece, @SotisValkan, who collaborates with the National Observatory of Athens. https://t.co/P7AKfmReIe (@SotisValkan / Google Earth / DigitalGlobe) pic.twitter.com/KkiKaGK1Zv

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) July 22, 2019