Face of Nation : An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.9 has jolted southern California a day after another large tremor struck the region.
The quake, which was initially reported as magnitude 7.1, would be the largest tremor in the region in 20 years and was centred in the same area as a 6.4 quake that hit a day earlier.
The earthquake was centred 11 miles (18 km) from Ridgecrest, a Mojave Desert town 150 miles (241 km) away from Los Angeles that saw building damage, fires and several injuries from the earlier quake.
Officials in San Bernardino County reported homes shifting, foundation cracking and retaining walls coming down. One person suffered minor injuries and was being treated by firefighters, they said.
Lucy Jones, a seismologist with the California Institute of Technology’s seismology lab, tweeted that the quake was part of the sequence that produced the earlier quake.
The new jolt was felt in central Los Angeles as a rolling motion that seemed to last at least half a minute. Reports said the quake rocked chandeliers and rattled furniture as far away as Las Vegas, and the US Geological Survey said it was felt in Mexico as well.
Brian Humphrey, of the Los Angeles Fire Department, told KNX-AM radio that more than 1,000 firefighters were mobilised, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The press box at Dodger Stadium lurched for several seconds, and fans in the upper deck appeared to be moving towards the exit.
Enrique Hernandez of the Dodgers was at-bat in the bottom of the fourth when the quake occurred. He stepped out of the batter’s box, but it was not clear if that was because of the quake.
Hours earlier, seismologists had said the earlier quake had been followed by more than 1,700 aftershocks and that they might continue for years.
However, that quake would now be considered a foreshock to the Friday night tremor.
Damage from Thursday’s quake appeared limited to desert areas, although the quake was felt widely. The largest aftershock – magnitude 5.4 – was also felt in Los Angeles before dawn on Friday.
At an afternoon news conference, a seismologist had said the odds of a quake of magnitude 6.0 or larger happening in the next few days was only 6% and dwindling.
