A preliminary 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck near San Diego at 10:08 a.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The quake’s epicenter was recorded 2.49 miles south of Julian, in San Diego County.
According to the USGS map, the quake was felt widely across Southern California and into Mexico.
Seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones said this earthquake is likely associated with the Elsinore Fault, which is a branch of the larger San Andreas Fault system. Jones said the depth of the quale was about eight miles below the surface of the Earth.
USGS
It is not yet known if there are reports of injuries or damage.
At least seven aftershocks were immediately reported after the initial quake.
- 10:10:17 a.m.: 2.9-magnitude, 3 km SSW of Julian
- 10:10:21 a.m.: 2.8-magnitude, 5 km SE of Julian
- 10:10:54 a.m.: 2.9-magnitude, 4 km SSE of Julian
- 10:11:30 a.m.: 2.7-magnitude, 5 km SSE of Julian
- 10:12:08 a.m.: 2.6-magnitude, 4 km S of Julian
- 10:13:08 a.m.: 3.0-magnitude, 4 km S of Julian
- 10:14:03 a.m.: 2.5-magnitude, 4 km S of Julian
Earthquake reactions across Southern California
Robin Boland with the Julian Chamber of Commerce said she felt like the quake lasted a long time. She said that although Julian is a small town, it rattled a lot of people.
“Everybody in town seemed to react to it again, everybody running out to the sidewalks on main street, Julian. Everybody was outside checking on each other and all the car alarms were going off,” Boland said.
A resident in Carlsbad said she felt the quake and was frightened by the jolt.
“We definitely felt a very violent jolt, and it lasted about 10 seconds and our whole entire building was swaying as well … that was the biggest earthquake I’ve felt in a long time,” Caroline from Carlsbad said.
Dylan Carniero was inside Mountain Spirits Liquor in Julian when the quake hit. He was getting ready to use the restroom when he started to feel the Earth shaking.
“I just hear like consecutive three to four different bursts and pops of different bottles,” he said.
Carniero said several bottles inside his store fell off the shelves and caused damage.
This is a developing story.