One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
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
Sponsored message
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
Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage:Sign up for our daily newsletters. To support our non-profit public service journalism:Donate Now.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
