Malibu earthquake is the 14th sequence with magnitude 4.0 this year. It is the highest since 1988.
The 4.7 magnitude earthquake hit the Malibu area on Thursday which makes it the 14th earthquake sequence with magnitude 4.0 in Southern California this year.
By Rob Hayes
Sep 13, 2024 02:49 AM
MALIBU, Calif. (KABC) — A 4.7 magnitude earthquake struck the Malibu area Thursday, making it the 14th earthquake sequence of magnitude 4.0 in Southern California this year – the most since 1988.
“We’ve had it now for a few years, but we’re kind of getting a few of these alerts now, so people are getting used to it,” said Dr. Allen Husker, a seismologist at Caltech.
Although many believe that smaller earthquakes are more likely to decrease the likelihood of a large one Husker states that it’s not exactly work that way.
“There’s no way, unfortunately, to alleviate the big one,” he added. “Really, the big ones are so much bigger that you would need hundreds or thousands of these small ones really to equate kind of like that big one, and we just don’t … there’s not enough.”
The greater number of smaller earthquakes could cause the opposite.
Husker claimed that seismic models show Southern California is overdue for “the big one,” and smaller earthquakes tend to indicate larger ones.
“Each earthquake slightly increases the chance of a future earthquake that’s about the same magnitude or larger,” He stated.
The Thursday earthquake was close near that of the Malibu fault, but it was located near that of the Anacapa fault. Earthquakes less than magnitude 5.0 aren’t big enough to be firmly linked with massive faults that are traced on the earth’s surface.
The quake occurred at 7:28 a.m. at an approximate depth of six miles. It was initially registered as an 5.1 but was then reduced to a 5.1. A series of aftershocks rattled the area in the hours following with one of them being the 3.4 at 8:40 a.m.
There were no reports of injuries or other damages have been received. Preparedness, of course, is a must in case the temblor of a major earthquake occurs.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
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