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Two [Small] Earthquakes Rattled Chatsworth Today
Map shows epicenter of the second of two small quakes on Sunday, with the outer lines indicating how much shaking people reported feeling. (Courtesy of USGS)
Two earthquakes rattled Chatsworth on Sunday: A 3.3 quake at 3:19 a.m., then another 3.2 quake at approximately 2:45 p.m. The epicenter of both was near Topanga Canyon Boulevard, just east of Santa Susana Pass State Historical Park, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Twitter weighed in on the shaking, with some users noting that adding earthquakes to the mix seemed like a little too much to deal with right now:
#day38oflockdown (although I’m pretty sure it’s actually longer) and here we have a plague, earthquakes (I see you Chatsworth 👀), and now #MurderHornets, which may as well be the locusts. 2020 needs a therapist. pic.twitter.com/JZcgRciY2I
— Heather Schultz (@HeatherSchultz) May 3, 2020
Goood morning everyone! 💜 There was a small earthquake a few hours ago in Chatsworth where the #JeffreeStarCosmetics warehouses are located! ⚠️ I really think 2020 needs to take a deep breath.
— Jeffree Star (@JeffreeStar) May 3, 2020
Others were just shook (sorry) that there were two in a row:
Omg another earthquake #Chatsworth #earthquake pic.twitter.com/a31ub005q9
— hope (@FIKAhope) May 3, 2020
That's two quakes.. near the same magnitude in the past 24 hours in Chatsworth.. Wonder if the San Fernando Valley is about to rock and roll again https://t.co/GO5vDU63Om
— D.J Wagner (@djwagner130) May 3, 2020
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Seismologist Lucy Jones weighed in after the second small quake of the day, noting the small possibility that these were foreshocks. And one thing she could say with some certainty: these were not aftershocks from the destructive 1994 Northridge:
The probability that a quake will be a foreshock is not affected by it occurring in a cluster. Every quake has about a 5% chance of being followed by something bigger within 3 days. The 2 small Chatsworth quakes are within the area of the Northridge aftershocks.
— Dr. Lucy Jones (@DrLucyJones) May 3, 2020
These are not Northridge aftershocks - it has been too long and the rate of quakes had gotten back down to the background rate almost 20 yrs ago. Technically this afternoon's M3.2 is an aftershock of last night's M3.5
— Dr. Lucy Jones (@DrLucyJones) May 3, 2020
THE BIG ONE IS COMING. GET PREPARED
We don't want to scare you, but The Big One is coming. We don't know when, but we know it'll be at least 44 times stronger than Northridge and 11 times stronger than the Ridgecrest quakes last year. To help you get prepared, we've compiled a handy reading list
- Your Guide To Surviving The Big One
- For Earthquakes, Forget The 'Go-Bag.' Here's How To Prepare
- How To Not Get Life-Threatening Diarrhea After A Major Earthquake
- 10 Earthquake-Related Questions To Ask Your Landlord Immediately
- Listen to KPCC's Podcast The Big One: Your Survival Guide
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