Alert for more quakes ongoing…Mexicali Rocked by Quake Swarm
3-29-2008 ANOTHER 4.2 STRIKES CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE FOR THE QUAKE SWARM MAP
CLICK HERE FOR THE ORIGINAL QUAKE MAP AND SOURCE
EXCLUSIVE TO BAJA SAFARI NOWComputer Model of the Future Big One 150 years ago. Article L.A. Times
NEW 5.0 and 4.7 TONIGHT> WEDNESDAY MEXICALI & GOV. OFFICES CLOSE
Thursday 9 AM, Civil Protection lowered the alert status of Mexicali today. The city is still very edgy after a week of tremors widespread damage.
Wednesday 8 AM, There is widespread light general damage in the Mexicali valley. Broken walls, many large concrete and ground sections have new big cracks. Some schools and selected government buildings will be closed for another day. Transportation systems, including all rail fascilities are on hightened alert. Tremors continued all night long.
6:00 AM report-Civil Protection of the City of Mexicali is on Red Alert. Confirmed NOW, schools some government offices will be closed in Mexicali today (Tuesday).
Monday night report, 9:30 PM Pacific Time-Phones and Power were out in Mexicali and environs for 40 minutes after the 8:30 5.0 shock and the 8:40 4.0 shock, more reports as they come in…
Monday night report, 9:00 PM Pacific Time-Because of the fact that a third quake at or above 5.0 has struck the Mexicali Valley, the chances of a much larger earthquake along the San Andreas Fault system from Mexico at the mouth of the Gulf of California to Cabazon in the United States, near the San Gorgonio Pass, are now above average. Stay advised.
REPORT FROM YUMA, ARIZONA-Buildings in Yuma shook Monday morning following a 5.1 earthquake on the Richter Scale in northern Mexico. [see reort below from Mexicali] The earthquake occurred at 11:29 a.m. Yuma time 23 miles southeast of Calexico, Calif., according to the Southern California Earthquake Data Center. No local reports of damage have been received. The quake and its numerous aftershocks were felt as far north as Yuma Proving Ground. This event follows on the heels of another 5.1 earthquake, which rocked roughly the same area of Baja California, Mexico, on Friday. That quake forced factories along the border to shut down and left 400,000 people without electricity. A local expert in seismology explained that these recent quakes stem from their proximity to the infamous San Andreas Fault. Graciela Rendon-Coke added that quakes in the past few days are indeed connected.
About 15 earthquakes ranging mostly between 2 and 3 have been reported from this same area of Northern Mexico. “They are all related. That area has earthquakes every day, you just don’t always feel them. They are usually a 1 or a 2,” said Rendon-Coke. “Now something like (Monday’s) earthquake is much stronger activity, plus with the aftershocks coming up. I wouldn’t be surprised if people felt it in Wellton.” Rendon-Coke has studied seismology with the University of Arizona since 1996. She has also worked with Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology. She currently teaches earth sciences at Cibola High School. Rendon-Coke said that Monday’s quake was enough to likely cause a degree of damage to buildings in Mexicali, Baja California.
The biggest earthquake in Yuma’s history books struck in 1940, when a 7.1 quake was measured. Rendon-Coke said this area hasn’t measured a 7.0 earthquake since that time. She stressed, however, how that may not be good news. She explained that experts have established a definite pattern in how often big quakes have historically struck that region of Northern Mexico. “We are long overdue for a big earthquake there,” the expert said. “For a time researchers have been expecting a big one.”
Mondays Report from Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico-A moderate earthquake struck northwestern Mexico near the U.S. border Monday, prompting authorities to evacuate schools and resulting in at least one minor gas leak. No major damage or injuries were reported from the temblor, which an expert said was likely an aftershock from a magnitude-5.4 quake three days ago. The magnitude-5.1(4.9 Possible adjusted Mag) quake hit around 10:30 a.m. local time (1:30 p.m. EST). It was centered about 20 miles southeast of the border city of Mexicali, and 24 miles southeast of the U.S. border city of Calexico, California, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The magnitude was revised downward from an initial calculation of 5.1. In Mexicali, an industrial border city of about 750,000, the quake caused the wall of a school to fall and started a gas leak in a second school, prompting authorities to evacuate all of the city’s learning centers, said Alfredo Escobedo, civil protection director for the Mexican state of Baja California, which includes Mexicali. Escobedo said no injuries or other damages had been reported. The latest earthquake came three days after the Mexicali area was rocked by a magnitude-5.4 quake that shut down factories and left 400,000 people without power. That quake was felt in parts of California and Arizona, the USGS said. A series of smaller quakes, ranging from magnitudes 2.5 to 2.9, preceded Monday’s temblor and there were at least five aftershocks, including one registering a magnitude-3.6, the USGS said. In 2000, the northern Baja California region near Mexicali was rattled by a cluster of quakes, but they did not cause any apparent damage. A 3.9 aftershock struck late this afternoon.
Friday Story:
Earthquake rocks Baja California, leaving 400,000 without power!
The quake that struck at 11:12 p.m. Friday had a magnitude of 5.1, according to the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colo. It had initially calculated the magnitude at 5.4. The quake was centred 25 kilometres southeast of the border city of Mexicali and 160 kilometres east of Tijuana. “It has been felt pretty widely in Southern California, southwestern Arizona and probably northern Mexico,” said USGS geophysicist Jessica Sigala. It was followed by at least 25 smaller aftershocks. The quake left about 400,000 people without electricity and 1.2 million without cellular telephone service, but service was restored at around 4 a.m. local time, said Fire Capt. Rene Rosado, director of civil defence in Mexicali.
About 80,000 workers were evacuated from or were unable to enter local factories for Sony, Honeywell and other major corporations, he said, but the factories had all reopened by Saturday afternoon. Two bridges showed five-to seven-centimetre cracks and were closed until engineers could determine they were safe, he said. Rescue workers were examining Mexicali schools, many of which are made of adobe, for cracks and other damage, said Alfredo Escobedo, director of Baja California civil protection. Oscar Vega, the state’s education secretary, said classes were expected to resume Monday, but his department would make an announcement when it knows if the buildings are safe. We will keep you advised.
Baja Safari NOW Editor
