Swarm Of Earthquakes Hits The Salton Sea Area

SALTON, CA — A series of medium-sized earthquakes hit the Salton Sea area in quick succession Friday night.

The ongoing swarm of more than a dozen quakes epicentered near Niland including three greater than magnitude 4.0. A magnitude 4.6 quake struck southwest of Niland at 9:39 p.m. just 12 minutes after a magnitude 4.0 quake struck in the same area, according to the US Geological Survey. A magnitude 4.1 quake struck again at 9:49 p.m.

Residents across Southern California reported the shaking.

The town is also near the San Andreas fault, but Jones said that the initial swarm wasn't close enough to the fault raise concern, said Seismologist Lucy Jones.

"Tonight's swarm is closer to the San Andreas, but still not in "triggering range". All foreshocks in California have been within 10 km of their mainshock and most were within 3 km," Jones tweeted. "This is still 20+ km away."

The uptick in quakes follows a week of hundreds of small quakes in the area. The were 603 tremblors over the last weekend, alone. The largest of those quakes was a magnitude of 5.3 on Saturday.

"A potentially bigger quake is ALWAYS possible to be triggered by any quake. Happens 5% of the time," said Jones..

READ MORE: Earthquake Swarm Rattles California's Salton Sea

In 2016, a series of earthquakes in the region prompted the U.S. Geological Survey to issue a warning of the increased risk of a large quake in Southern California because more than 200 temblors epicentered less than four miles from the San Andreas Fault near the Salton Sea.

"Past swarms have remained active for 1 to 20 days, with an average duration of about a week," the USGS previously reported.

"Unfortunately, 'they continue until they stop' is our only definitive description," Jones added on Saturday. "It is usually within a day, and today's swarm is already quite a bit less active. It is probably dying off but could swing back into action."

The weekend earthquakes were felt in Imperial County and as far as San Diego County.

The American Red Cross has recommended the following earthquake safety tips:

• Become aware of fire evacuation and earthquake safety plans for all of the buildings you occupy.
• Pick safe places in each room of your home, workplace and/or school. A safe place could be under a piece of furniture or against an interior wall away from windows, bookcases or tall furniture that could fall on you.
• Practice "drop, cover and hold on" in each safe place. If you do not have sturdy furniture to hold on to, sit on the floor next to an interior wall and cover your head and neck with your arms.
• Keep a flashlight and sturdy shoes by each person's bed in case the earthquake strikes in the middle of the night.
• Make sure your home is securely anchored to its foundation.
• Bolt and brace water heaters and gas appliances to wall studs.
• Bolt bookcases, china cabinets and other tall furniture to wall studs.
• Hang heavy items, such as pictures and mirrors, away from beds, couches and anywhere people sleep or sit.
• Brace overhead light fixtures.
• Install strong latches or bolts on cabinets. Large or heavy items should be closest to the floor.
• Learn how to shut off the gas valves in your home and keep a wrench handy for that purpose.
• Learn about your area's seismic building standards and land use codes before you begin new construction Keep and maintain an emergency supplies kit in an easy-to-access location.

See Also:

• Earthquake Preparedness: Must-Have List
• Earthquake Preparedness For CA Pet Owners

Patch staffers Kat Schuster contributed to this report