Series of Small Quakes Rattles the Salton Sea

MECCA, CA — About 35 small earthquakes rattled the southern Salton Sea area Monday, one month after an earthquake "swarm" led officials to issue an alert warning of an increased possibility for a major earthquake event.

The quakes, which began at 2:43 a.m., were all relatively mild but closely follow a swarm of around 200 quakes that struck the region in late September.

That swarm — which included two magnitude 4.3 temblors — led the California Office of Emergency Services to issue an earthquake advisory, warning of a slight increase in the possibility of a major earthquake (magnitude 7.0 or higher) to be triggered by the swarm.

The California Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Council said in September that the probability of a major quake occurring along the San Andreas Fault was increased by 0.03 to 1 percent due to the swarm.

The majority of the latest quakes occurred within about an hour of each other, but two additional temblors were recorded by the USGS at 10:17 a.m. and 10:26 a.m., with magnitudes of 3.0 and 2.9, respectively.

The largest was a magnitude 3.5 recorded at 3:41 a.m. near Niland in Imperial County.

- City News Service / Image via Shutterstock