A magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit Kern County in California on Friday evening — just a day after a magnitude 6.4 earthquake that was the largest temblor in the region in two decades, the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed.
Shaking on Friday evening was felt as far away as Las Vegas and Los Angeles and into northern Mexico. The USGS said there was a 5 percent chance a larger quake could still follow.
The newest earthquake’s epicenter was about 10 miles north-northeast of Ridgecrest, Calif., about 150 miles northeast of Los Angeles, in the same area where Thursday’s quake occurred. The Ridgecrest area has had more than 100 aftershocks since Thursday’s earthquake and experts warn there could be more to come.
Thursday’s quake is now being considered a foreshock to Friday’s, the USGS said. Dozens of aftershocks continued into the night after Friday’s quake as well.
“Every earthquake makes another earthquake more likely and that’s what we’re seeing right here,” Caltech seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones said Friday. “The first one is often not the biggest one.” – READ MORE