Dozens of Earthquakes Shake Southern California After Residents Recover From 5.2 Magnitude Quake

California has seen an increasing amount of earthquakes in recent years, which has caused some concern among residents.

The quake was centered in Lamont, California, which is about 21 miles from Bakersfield.

These aftershocks ranged from 2.5 to 4.5 magnitude quakes.

Most — if not all — of these quakes were small aftershocks. However, this event still managed to put some Californians on edge.

Residents in Los Angeles, which is about 104 miles southeast of Lamont, reported feeling this notable quake on Tuesday night.

A Salton Sea 3.3 quake was felt in various parts of Southern California. Meanwhile, a 4.9 magnitude earthquake centered around Barstow was also felt in multiple regions.

The White Wolf fault is the fault responsible for the huge 1952 quake. However, Jones clarified that it doesn’t appear that the fault actually caused this most recent earthquake.

This latest 5.2 magnitude quake has already caused some concern, especially because of the many aftershocks felt.

However, many seismologists have come out to clarify that this latest quake doesn’t necessarily bode bad news.

She wrote, “Like any quake in SoCal, there is a 5% chance that it will be followed by something bigger. That means a 95% chance that this is the largest. We have never found any characteristic that makes a quake more likely to be a foreshock.”

These new emergency systems are designed to potentially help — and warn — residents when seismic activity is occurring.

This 6.4 magnitude earthquake occurred in December in the morning and resulted in damaged property, roads, and two deaths.

According to the California Earthquake Authority (CEA), there are over 500 active faults in California, as well as 15,700 known faults.

Depending on the magnitude of the quake, intense shaking can easily be felt from a great distance away. An intense 1999 7.1 magnitude earthquake in California was reportedly felt as far as 300 miles away, though the strongest shaking was near the epicenter.

The CEA estimates California has a greater than 99% chance of experiencing a magnitude 6.7 earthquake or greater by 2044.

In 2019, Newsom announced the creation of an early warning app that was the first of its kind in the country, which the governor recently praised for helping protect Californians in the August 6 quake.

“Continuing to lead the country in emergency management and disaster preparedness, California’s first-in-the-nation Earthquake Early Warning System—launched under Governor Gavin Newsom’s leadership—provided advance notification to millions of Californians. This alert came ahead of the 5.2 magnitude earthquake’s shaking that was felt late last night throughout Central and Southern California,” said the governor’s office statement.

“Phones in the affected areas received notifications thanks to the state’s MyShake app, which sent 517,354 alerts, and even more Californians received alerts thanks to the public-private partnership between the state and Google, which has integrated the alert software into their Android cell phone operating systems,” said the statement.

The MyShake app, launched in 2019, now delivers earthquake alerts to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington.

“Our investments in cutting edge, innovative technologies are paying off. Efforts like these have allowed us to gain vital seconds between when alerts arrive on Californians’ mobile phones and when the ground starts shaking. Californians, I encourage you to download the app, it can save lives!” said Newsom.

“The system performed Tuesday—giving Californians many seconds of advance warning” said Cal OES Director Nancy Ward. “This demonstrates that Californians are now more protected in the moments before the devastation of major earthquake hits.”

“California is also using the technology to automate protective actions such as opening firehouse doors, recalling elevators, shutting off water and gas valves as well as closing bridges gates and notifying personnel in school and medical settings. Because of this capability, Metrolink’s train system automatically generated a notice that an earthquake had occurred,” the governor’s office statement said.

“California just had [an] earthquake AND she said she got the alert BEFORE the earthquake ever happened,” said one X user in response to a TikTok video about the quake by Heather McDonald.

“I got a loud alert on my phone before the shaking started here in LA. I was ready for it,” said an X user. “Felt it in Santa Barbara.  Shake app sounded off, then light shaking for 10-15 seconds,” said X user Darlene Cullington.