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Earthquakes Hit Baja California

by jordan | February 9, 2008 at 10:06 am | 2705 views | 12 comments

This is a developing story- more details as they emerge. The real damage, so far, seems to be loss of power and communication to rural areas.

A moderate earthquake rocked Baja California in Mexico, shutting down factories near the U.S. border and leaving about 400,000 people without power, authorities said Saturday. No major damage or injuries were immediately reported.

The quake that struck around 11:15 p.m. Friday had a preliminary magnitude of 5.4, said Jessica Sigala, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colorado. It was centered 16 miles southeast of the border town of Mexicali and about 100 miles east of Tijuana.

"It has been felt pretty widely in Southern California, southwestern Arizona and probably northern Mexico," Sigala said.

It was followed by at least 15 aftershocks, including four with preliminary magnitudes of 3.8, 3.6, 3.5 and 3.0.

The quake left about 400,000 people without electricity and 1.2 million without cellular telephone service, said Fire Capt. Rene Rosado, director of civil defense in Mexicali.

No major damage or injuries are reported, but about 400,000 people have lost power.

The 5.4 magnitude quake hit late Friday night about 100 miles east of Tijuana and was followed by at least 15 aftershocks. A scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey in Colorado said it was also felt in Southern California and southwestern Arizona.

In addition to the hundreds of thousands of people without power, more than 1 million people have lost cell-phone service.

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jordan

at 10:11 on February 9th, 2008

news wanted:

I think this is an important story and would benefit from other NowPublic contributors working on it. I've flagged it as News Wanted and invite others in relevant locations to look for more evidence.

azzayindia

at 10:43 on February 9th, 2008

good stuff:

jordan, I like this story. It's good stuff.

azzayindia

at 10:44 on February 9th, 2008

it is a developing story and would like to read the side stories involvin sheer human courage at this hour

Miyspirit

at 13:46 on February 9th, 2008

A super report Jordan!!!!!!!!!

jordan

at 14:23 on February 9th, 2008

Thanks, Miyspirit.

Meanwhile, there have been more aftershocks, bringing the number up to twenty-five. Thankfully, the casualty count remains at zero, as far as we know.

Caoimhin1

at 14:33 on February 9th, 2008

Great story. There have been a series of volcanoes erupting from the southern most tip of South America for the last two weeks working their way up the west coast. Any correlation?

jordan

at 15:12 on February 9th, 2008

It's possible- tectonic shifting is about as powerful a force as one can find. I don't know enough about seismology to be sure, though.

Leo Marquez

at 16:09 on February 9th, 2008

The tectonic activity is most likely due to the Pacific Ring of Fire's movements, since the volcanic activity in South America is no coincidence. There's a dormant volcano named 'Cerro Prieto', which seems to be the epicenter of all of these tremors. Not one recorded volcanic activity has come from that volcano. Now there's a slight possiblity that science is going to have a new volcano that scientists can cross out of their dormancy list.

Edit: To also add in to what sounds like paranoia, here's a few informational sources.

http://quake.usgs.gov/recenteqs/Maps/116-33.html

http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1401-00-

Leo Marquez

at 16:32 on February 9th, 2008

good stuff:

jordan, I like this story. It's good stuff.

patgarcia

at 20:23 on February 9th, 2008

good stuff:

jordan, thanks for posting, I just received a message from a friend in Tijuana saying it felt pretty strong and she was feeling an aftershock as she was writing to me. El universal and Exoline report there have been 40 aftershocks so far.

http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/480918.html

http://www.exonline.com.mx/diario/noticia/primera/pulsonacional/registran_en_mexicali_40_replicas_de_temblor/127831

Leo Marquez

at 11:42 on February 11th, 2008

Another large earthquake has hit in the same area. It was a 5.1. It was a nice shock in my area. Woke almost everyone up.

Leo Marquez

at 00:49 on February 17th, 2008

It all seems to be over. Fantastic.