Story Created:
Jun 15, 2010 at 4:16 AM PST
Story Updated:
Jun 15, 2010 at 4:16 AM PST
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake centered five miles southeast of Ocotillo in Imperial County Monday night was felt over much of Southern California, but there were no immediate reports of damage in Los Angeles or Orange counties.
The earthquake, an aftershock of the 7.2 earthquake centered near Mexicali April 4, struck at 9:26 p.m. and was followed within about a half-hour by 13 aftershocks, including two that were magnitude 4.1, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
The earthquake was felt from La Quinta in the Coachella Valley to West Los Angeles, along with Orange and San Diego counties, where the foul poles at Petco Park swayed and the interleague game between the San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays was briefly stopped.
The Los Angeles Fire Department went to “earthquake mode'' as a preventive measure at 9:55 p.m., the department's Devin Gales said, adding there was “no damage reported yet.''
No damage or injuries were reported in Los Angeles County, said county fire dispatch Supervisor Ray Dong. The Orange County Fire Authority dispatchers received no calls about the temblor, a communications supervisor said.
Aftershocks from the April 4 earthquake could continue for another 10 years, a Caltech seismologist told KTTV-TV Channel 11.
The 7.2 earthquake in April caused the earth's crust to re-adjust itself, Kate Hutton of the Caltech Seismological Laboratory told reporters Monday night.
“It was a big break along a fault in Baja and up into the U.S.,'' Hutton said. “It caused the crust to re-adjust itself by having a further series of earthquakes and these are all aftershocks.
“Most occur on the same fault zone as the main shock, but they can branch off. They can be on adjacent faults also. This is a large member of the aftershock sequence.''
A 5.7 earthquake is “big enough to get your attention and possibly knocks things off shelves, might cause some cracking in plaster and so forth,'' Hutton said, adding serious property and structure damage is unlikely in Southern California because of more stringent building codes.
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