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Climate & Environment

Hundreds of earthquakes strike Imperial Valley city of Brawley

Orange spots are clustered densely on a map.
A series of earthquakes has struck the Imperial Valley city of Brawley. The blue circle represents the largest to date: a 4.7 magnitude that struck early Sunday morning.
(
Screenshot from U.S. Geological Survey website
)

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A swarm of earthquakes has hit the Imperial Valley city of Brawley, the most significant ranging in magnitude from 2 to 4.7 — with scores more registering at lower magnitudes.

In all, the U.S. Geological Survey has reported some 355 quakes over the past day. At least 40 quakes strong enough to make the 2.0 and higher magnitude list are among those.

No injuries or significant damage have been reported. A ShakeAlert was issued for the 4.7 magnitude quake. The early warning system alerts nearby residents to prepare, warning that strong shaking will start imminently.

Area residents report taking the quakes in stride.

"It felt all right. We were having a good day," Dave Ramirez, who works at a local truck stop, told LAist. " Nothing really crazy."

A graphic showing how the release of energy compares in earthquakes, from small to massive in size, using a swooping figure, like a triangle, to plot out some of the biggest known earquakes in history. On one side of the graph, a vertical lines plots magnitude. On the other side, a vertical lines plots the energy release. By finding some of the biggest earthquakes on record, one can imagine their terrible power.
Here's a look at how earthquake magnitudes compare.
(
Courtesy Incorporated Research Institutes for Seismology, IRIS.
)

What we know so far

The first, a magnitude 3.4, struck around 4 p.m. Saturday. The latest was a magnitude 2.9 that hit at 4 a.m. Sunday.

The biggest so far was a magnitude 4.7 that rattled the area shortly after midnight Sunday.

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Brawley, about 115 miles east of San Diego, says in a statement that it "continues closely monitoring ongoing earthquake activity and aftershocks affecting the region."

The jolts are concentrated around the Brawley Fault Zone, an area known for frequent earthquake swarms connecting the Imperial and San Andreas faults.

Here's what the activity looks like on a seismogram

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