A magnitude-5.1 earthquake struck just south of Ojai in Ventura County at approximately 2:41p.m. Sunday as tropical storm Hilary continued to intensify across Southern California.
"This earthquake is not related to the storm," said Morgan Page, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey. "This is an area that frequently has earthquakes so it's not unexpected that there'd be a moderate sized earthquake in this area."
More than 10 aftershocks followed, many larger than magnitude 3, which is to be expected.
Yes, we just had an earthquake. It looks like it was preceded by a small foreshock sequence(largest M2.5) that began Saturday morning https://t.co/xeajLOcUtW
— Dr. Lucy Jones (@DrLucyJones) August 20, 2023
There's also a chance that this was a foreshock, or a smaller quake preceding a larger one. The USGS says there's a 5% chance that this could trigger another magnitude 5 or greater quake in the next week.
No damage was immediately reported.
At 2:41PM, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake occurred Southeast of Ojai on the Sisar fault. Numerous additional aftershocks have and will continue to occur. There are no immediate reports of damage at this time. For additional information, please visit https://t.co/ZPS6VFnTCp
— Ventura County Sheriff (@VENTURASHERIFF) August 20, 2023
The quake was of moderate intensity. People reported feeling the quake north of Lompoc and south of Oceanside, according to the "Did You Feel It?" map.
An early warning was issued via Shake Alert.
The good news is that Tropical Storm Hilary prep mirrors earthquake prep. So if you went out and picked up water, food, extra medicine and first aid, you're in pretty good shape for when a bigger quake hits.
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