4.0 Magnitude Earthquake Rattles Residents in Orange County, Felt in San Diego

orange county earthquake

Early Thursday morning a 4.0 magnitude earthquake struck Orange County, with the shaking affecting residents all the way in San Diego.

The epicenter of the temblor – which occurred at 2:30 am PST — was about 8 miles northeast of Trabuco Canyon, in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains.

One resident said he heard a “loud rumbling” sound before a “huge jolt” hit the area. Thankfully, there have been no injuries or damage reported.

Earlier this year, the Journal of Geophysical Research shared a new study revealing that a 7.4 magnitude earthquake could strike Los Angeles and San Diego at the same time, rocking areas like Orange County along the way.

That’s because L.A.’s Newport/Inglewood fault line could impact the Rose Canyon fault.

“These two fault zones are actually one continuous fault zone,” said author Valerie Sahakian, who’s working on her doctorate at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.

While scientists originally believed there were wide spaces between the fault lines – as much as 3 miles – new data suggests the gap is much smaller, measuring less than 1 ¼ miles apart between the faults.

“That kind of characterizes it as one continuous fault zone, as opposed to two different, distinct fault systems,” Sahakian explained.

Luckily, Thursday’s quake occurred on a smaller fault near the area’s larger Elsinore fault.

However, new research suggests that if a major earthquake struck Southern California’s coastline, we’d see even more damage to our beach cities than previously expected.

Now, more than ever, it’s important to be proactive about earthquake preparation and safety.

Julian De La Torre is an expert in Los Angeles foundation inspection, foundation contractors and foundation repair. Julian’s company, Julian Construction, has inspected over 15,000 structures, working with engineering firms and local departments of building & safety. The company has done more foundation repair in Los Angeles than any other company in the area over the last five years.

Leave A Comment...

*