Some of the earthquakes they had eight months ago. Once that comes in and well be able to go through and look a bit better if we have anymore in the way of information. Just to give you a quick glance here Around The World anything from a 6. 6 to 6. 9 weve seen them all year. That is not many earthquakes. Tom, stay with us. Were going to continue our coverage. That is it for me. Im going to hand this over to brook baldwin to continue our coverage of this earthquake thats a 6. 4 in california. Announcer this is cnn Breaking News. Here we go on this independence day. We continue with this Breaking News out of Southern California. Thank you for being with me. Im brooke baldwin. Talking about this major earthquake. Preliminary reports indicate it was a 6. 4 magnitude quake. And just for perspective for all
of us, those deadly quakes back in 1989 and 1994 they were 6. 9 and 6. 7 respectively. I youve been talking to briana, but you felt the building shake . Not only that, when you looked out from where we are located this is about a 15floor building. The entire building you could feel it moving and you could feel some of the moving in here as well. And you look down at the street and you could see some signposts going, the signposts sort of moving. That is from our camera above us, on top of this building. You see that jiggling a little bit there but sometimes thats just wind. But we certainly felt it and we felt it for several seconds. It wasnt just a quick move and then it went away. It went on, thats how we knew this was definitely a moderately
large earthquake. We are now hearing 6. 4 downgraded from a 6. 6. We have just talk today the renowned Seismologist Lucy Jones which a lot of people know. She has books out. Shes been talking about earthquakes for many, many decades and people really trust and know her. She said just before this happened in ridge crest which is about 156 miles from los angeles, there was a 4. 2 just a halfhour before, so theyve got a jolt, and then they got the larger one at 6. 4. And the area in the 1980s had a lot of, you know, 4. 5 or 5 magnitude earthquakes. So this is an area that is familiar as is much of california with earthquakes. But this is moderately large earthquake and can do damage. And we were able to have a conversation with a hotelier that is in the ridge crest area. That hotel says, yes, we felt the floors sort of ripple and there is damage at least at this one hotel. And if there is damage there there is likely damage elsewhere in the ridge crest area. That area has about 27,000 people so its a fairly small town for california. But certainly all over. We are hearing reports from all over the place. Fresno said they felt something. Twitter is going crazy with people talking about whats happening. Which is pretty normal here. Whenever we be an event like this even if its small people are saying did you feel it, if theres problem, if theres damage, heres a number to call. But all the way in las vegas and they felt it. Santa barbara felt it, pasadena felt it. This was large enough for people across california and even into the next state to feel this. It gives you some idea of just the strength of this and what it
can do. Now we need to find out what is happening at the epicenter. We will sure get some pictures in here shortly. That is a Picture Thereof los angeles just a few moments ago. And you see that camera on the top of our Building Shaking and it did go on for some time. The longer they go on, the more damage there can be. A lot of people trying to figure out what is happening there in ridge crest, and we will certainly get those pictures in soon, brooke. Keep working the phones. Im sure lots of folks are being called assessing damage there. Standby, thank you very much. We want to go into some more Affiliate Coverage there live in los angeles. Lets dip in. I didnt do that. I just maintained my coolness and to get everything into perspective since i was just waking up. Reporter and we were speaking earlier. You also experienced the north ridge quake. How does this one compare to that and have you learned anything from that one . I cant say it was as bad as
that one, but it was right next door to it. It was pretty bad, this earthquake. Reporter and you tell me youre prepared. You stay prepared even though we dont have earthquakes every day, but its something you think everybody should be prepared for. Thats so true. My brother is really the one that does it. He keeps watt, canned goods, soy hes the guy. Now i know for a fact and we do keep a kit with band aids and medical emergency stuff there. But this lets me kno its really important for everyone to have their stuff together packed for earthquake preparedness. Reporter can you tell was there any damage to your building . I kind of received the property from the owner so when i get back home im going to physically check. Reporter and any damage for your neighbor snz. Im going to talk to them
now. Reporter thank you so much for speaking with us. We appreciate it. All right, so just listening into this gentleman who obviously felt it. Any time you feel the ground move, so many people off work today, right, celebrating this holiday. It is noteworthy especially when were now talking about this 6. 4 magnitude earthquake. I just want to relay this, this is from Lax The Airport there. All lax runways have been inspected with no reported damage to the airfield or the tunnel. Operations remain normal. So thats the latest out of lax. Tom seder . Im being told that was a parade, okay, so people parading along through the earthquake in los angeles. I know the epicenter you were saying what about 150 miles away closer towards las vegas . Its in between bakersfield and las vegas. Pretty close to around Death Valley National park. But ridge crest is extremely close. 30,000 people live there. We have some information. Were Still Limited with the usgs but it is coming up now in just a moment. 6. 4, originally 6. 6, thats not unusual to drop. But only 5 miles indepth. Typically Around The World a lot of times these will be 100, 200 miles deep. The shallower they are the more shaking stays at the surface. A lot of it has to do with the soil content and the makeup of that. Let me move on because that was at 10 33 local time. Theyve had significant after shocks. Dr. Lucy jones is saying this is not along the san andreas fault. This is an area of much smaller faults. And since back in the 80s there used to be a number of smaller quakes in this area that were 5. 0 magnitude or higher. However, this is right now we believe the strongest magnitude 6 quake in surn california since 1999 when they had a bit larger
one. Now, when you have quakes of this size, 6. 4 or higher, theres 134 of them that happen Around The World annually. But this is going to blow your mind because this is what could still happen. When you have a 6. 4 magnitude quake, how many after shocks can you have and what is typical . Its typical to have at least one thats a 5. 4 or higher. Weve had a 4. 7. That would fall into this category. How many 4. 4 or higher . We could have ten of those after this event. How many at 3. 4 or higher, 100. Ill show you this map here. This is going to blow your mind as well. Its hard to see so were going to zoom in on this. If we can take this full. Any little yellow dot you see here is a tremor in the last week. Now,atory all over. Were going to zoom in for you. Anything in orange the last 24 hours, and then anything in red is today. Lets get in tighter. You can see the mountainous
area, theres bakersfield, ridge crest. This is our main quake at 6. 4. Its a larger dot of red. Im counting now, one, thrwo, three, four, five, six, seven, eight shocks. This could go on for hours, days, even possibly weeks. Lets hope the energy is being released now is this is thefore shock that follows. All those after shocks, tom seder, thank you so much. Well come back to you as we continue this coverage here. Ive got a seismologist with me now and you are in l. A. Let me ask you the first question which is did you feel it . I was actually driving through central l. A. On the way to the airport to pick up my husband so i did not feel a thing although on the radio they were instantly having talked
about having felt it. And when you hear now 6. 4, put it in perspective for us. Yeah, that is a goodsized earthquake, as youve heard. Its close to the 1994 north ridge earthquake and what makes all the difference is north ridge was in the middle of a city where this was in a fairly remote area. The closest goodsized town isnt ridge crest, which my family has lived in that area since 1946. Its remote. It was started as a navy base for weapons testing, but its a goodsized town, as you heard 30,000 people. And given the magnitude and distance i would expect that they saw light damage in that town. Listening to you, i was listening to a note of tom seders a second ago. He was saying in the last couple of weeks there have been smaller tremors in Southern California and seismologists have been taking note, maybe waiting forSomething Like this. Is that typical ahead of something of this magnitude . Im not aware of any fo foreshocks, and there has been a smattering of 3s in different areas. I havent seen any notable uptick in recent weeks. Last question, we know those after shocks will continue for some period of time, whats your message to folks in this part of the country . They are going to continue to feel after shocks. There is a small chance of an even bigger earthquake can happen as they heard. This could in fact be t the foreshock to something bigger. Its only about a 1 in 20 chance. Anything that happens in that area is going to be remote, but earthquakes are possible any day and in any part of california. They dont take a holiday. Thank you and please continue on and grab your husband from lax and a happy fourth to you and your family. Let me get to this sound. This is from a witness who was actually near the epicenter of this quake. This is from kcbs. Oh, yes, everything fell. I was in the house. My boyfriend was here hooch he just left to go to his house, and plants fell, pictures fell offthewalls. Oh, theres another after shock. Things fell out of the cupboards. It was scary. It felt way bigger than a 6. 4 for sure. Is everybody okay in your neighborhood . Have people gone outside . I havent talked to my neighbors but i talked to my sister and she can see fires burning in the town. And at her house she as a big shop and all the tool chest with the tools in them fell over,
everything fell out of her cupboard. She said there was glass over the floor in the kitchen. It was huge. Whbt tat about the power . My power is still working and the gas line looks okay. The cars were like bouncing up and down. It was just incredible. It was huge here. It was so scary. Well, i was in big bear for the landers quake, and it was as big as that, for sure. And describe the community to me, susan. Is it mostly flat areas, pretty hilly . You said your sister saw fires. Can you describe the landscape . Yes, very flat. Were down in a valley, about 45 minutes from death valley, and so its a very flat community. Theres a naval base here and the hubbub of the community. Its a very flat area so were
still experiencing after shocks, theyre constant. We had a little one this morning that didnt wake me up. I guess it was a precursor about point something could you guys feel that one . Thats someone who definitely felt it and assessing the damage in her own home. Weve been wondering about damage assessments throughout this part of california. What have you learned . So we talked to as i said earlier a hotelier that said they felt damage there. You heard a woman talking about fires. Another person who lives in ridge crest says she definitely sees fires. She is concerned about that. As you know when these happen sometimes they can, for example, Break Gas Lines and that sort of thing which can create fires. We saw that happen in the San Francisco earthquake there where a whole area was basically burned down in the marina
because of that. Which is why they tell people turn off your gas if you can, turn off your water, prepare youvls in these sorts of things and so you have no warning. Thats why if it happens right after if everythings okay and youre in a safe spot and you can do these things, you should definitely do some of the things youre taught here in california. Lucy jones whos a renowned seismologist has said, yes, there was a slight warning, a 4. 2 magnitude quake happened there in ridge crest about a half an hour before a larger quake happened. But you dont know that because we get little earthquakes all the time. People are relatively used to having a small shake and then they go, oh, wow, we just experienced an earthquake. When theres no damage, no issues it doesnt feel big, you go about your day, you go about your business. One of the things that could be here is it is a holiday. There isnt a lot of traffic, not a lot of folks out on the roads whether youre in los
angeles or ridge crest. That can be a good thing because as you know those overpasses and all of the freeways that are here can be vulnerable in these kinds of earthquakes. Its what we saw, for example, in north ridge, which is a 6. 4. And that created quite a bit of damage. One of the big pictures we all remember, brooke, is when an overpass caved in, fell in and you saw that sort of damage which is incredibly scary to people. I cant help it because its one of the tools everyone uses now. Twitter its okay. Twitter, right. This comes from ava, she is a renowned director whos won quite a few awards. Shes lived here in los angeles her entire life, and she says that is the longest earthquake ive ever experienced, not jerky, smooth and rolling. That describes it perfectly. It was rolling. It did feel like it wept on for quite a long time, long enough for people to get on twitter and show the video of things
happening. I can tell you here in the los angeles area, and were about 156 miles away from ridge crest. So giving you some idea its being felt all over the place. Santa barbara, pasadena, all of these places have felt it. But we should also mention las vegas felt it, and las vegas may have felt it even stronger. Why . Because of where this particular earthquake was centered. Ridge crest is actually closer to las vegas than it is to, for example, los angeles. So wherever this is epicentered that is where youre going to feel the strongest and have the most potential for damage and injuries. I do want to mention this to folks who are in the southern western part of the country. Do not call 911 unless you have been injured or there are injuries you can see. Because what happens is those phone lines get filled with people saying we felt this earthquake, we want to know Whats Going On, that is not the venue for that. The Los Angeles Police department are asking people
unless theres injuries and an emergency please do not call us. Theres ways to get information online. But when those phone lines get jammed and there is an naerjs, there are fires, for example, people injured, there are damages people are concerned about, they cannot get the help they need as soon as they need it. So thats one warning to folks who are obviously concerned with what has happened. And the fact this went on so long, brooke, is significant because the longer the earthquake goes on, the more potential for more damage. And you heard there, there are people now two people have confirmed they have seen fires in the ridge crest area. Brooke . Thank you so much for all of that. I can tell youve been through this before. Great note on not calling 911 unless you have a serious injury. Live pictures here as theyve certainly got eyes on the skies, and note worthy now the reports of these fires in the ridge crest area which is closer to where this thing was centered. So hopefully we can get somebody
on the phone from ridge crest. In the meantime i have maurice wadd on the phone with me. You are in los angeles and i appreciate you calling in. Youre from ohio. Have you ever felt anything like this and what did it feel like . Quite the wakeup call is what it felt like. Yeah, coming from ohio this was an experience to say the least. Hang on one second. Lets listen to this. This is seismologist speaking about the quake. The duration is how long the earth is Producing Energy, and earthquakes begin at an epicenter and happen along a fault, and they start at the epicenter and rupture down the fault. That rupture feed is 2 miles a second. If the fault is 10 miles long the earthquake is Producing Energy for 5 seconds. This earthquake at this magnitude likely that the fault is at least 10 miles long
probably a right amount which means the earth produces energy for 5 seconds compared to the fore shock would have been Producing Energy for a quarter of a second. I did not have shake alert working on the computers at home. The computers here in the lab did give an Early Warning for this by about, it would be a pretty long time because its a long ways away. Rob, why dont you come join us . The head yeah, hes getting briefed and then well get the usgs representative here as well. We see right here is our shaking distributions. We have a system that recognizes that earthquakes are beginning and sends you the information that the earthquake has begun and an estimate of when shaking will get you depending on this travel time of the waves. So the system worked and said theres an earthquake of about
6. 2 Producing Energy, and the warning came through. Do we have a time of how much warning we got in pasadena . And the final magnitude, of course okay, so in los angeles there were a 48second warning that was the shaking was arriving. Obviously it was not damaging shaking. Thats one of the down sides to this only approach we have. The farther away you are the more warning you get and the less likely there is to be damage. And there are censors in satellites . How do we ever know theres an earthquake . We have censors called seismometers distributed around california. Weve recorded about 500 censors Seismic Network and they are distributed widely so we can try and catch them. As soon as we get enough nearby we can see that an earthquake is under way and we send that
information out. And in fact one of the exciting things, these biggest earthquakes they arent at a point. So wh