5 ms·

Earthquake strikes Southern California with preliminary magnitude of 5.1

21 points by maxbond 3y ago

maxbond 3y ago
Geez they can't catch a break. I'm glad they were already in a state of emergency and people were hopefully sheltering. My best wishes to the Southern Californians of HN
- KZerda 3y ago
  A 5.1 isn't going to do much damage in socal, especially where it was epicentered. Probably the worst is going to be knocked over liquor bottles at the supermarket. Awkward timing, but not a disaster.
- CameronNemo 3y ago
  Honestly the LA area is not getting much action. Little bit of rain. We kinda lucked out. Hopefully the next one misses us again.
- Rebelgecko 3y ago
  TBH a 5.1 is not a big deal unless you're right on top of it. People near the epicenter might have to readjust some pictures on their walls, but it's not the most densely populated area
robsh 3y ago
Saturated soil plus ground motion is a bad combination. Hopefully there’s not a more powerful aftershock tonight or tomorrow.
- anjel 3y ago
  Can't tell if you mean more efficient seismic energy transmission, fault lubrication effects, weight bearing effects on faults or another theory perhaps. Care to elaborate?
  - maxbond 3y ago
    An earthquake is liable to trigger a mudslide if the ground is very wet.
  - northwest65 3y ago
    Liquefaction was one of the more miserable results of the Christchurch earthquake.
bombcar 3y ago
M 5.1 - 7 km SE of Ojai, CA 2023-08-20 21:41:00 (UTC)34.409°N 119.188°W4.8 km depth
- antod 3y ago
  I (nowhere near California, but living in a seismic zone) was wondering how news worthy a 5.1 was until I saw the very shallow depth you posted. Yeah, you'll really feel that one if you're nearby.
  - byteknight 3y ago
    30 mi from epicenter and got a google alert before the very mild shake. More tripped out about the pre-alert and how cool that was than the quake.
    - bombcar 3y ago
      Depending on how much pre alert you get you could have fun at the bar or with friends. Or Taco Bell.
  - Etrnl_President 3y ago
    Remember: The Richter Scale is exponential.
    - fragmede 3y ago
      logarithmic
HDMI_Cable 3y ago
At this point, I think SoCal may just be cursed. Horrible traffic, smog from wildfires, a tropical storm, and an earthquake?! I think that should be a cue to move out before the LA river turns into blood or frogs start raining from the sky.
- wkat4242 3y ago
  Well building cities on a major fault line is more akin to cursing yourself IMO. I guess people are betting "the big one" won't happen during their lifetime. The same with traffic, as it's caused by poor planning. The others are really acts of nature. Ps not judging here, I'm just qualifying :) I'm from the Netherlands, from a part that was most decidedly below sea level which is also inviting disaster obviously. Especially with the rising sea levels. And one huge disaster also happened in the past. We also have an entirely human caused earthquake problem in the northeast due to the empty spaces left by natural gas extraction.
  - AlotOfReading 3y ago
    To provide some context, the fault zone you're talking about runs the entire length of the Pacific coasts, from Chile to Alaska. It's larger than the entire Atlantic coast of mainland Europe several times over and extends inland for hundreds of kilometers. Outside the fault zone is mostly arid desert or something similarly hostile, excepting places like California with milder mediterreanean climates. "Don't build there" isn't really actionable.
  - pro-kythera 3y ago
    > most decidedly below sea level Out of curiosity, are household-level defense measures at all common? Personal flotation and/or small boats, means for rooftop access, or such? I will guess there can be cultural differences vis-a-vis fatalism and lack of preparation.
    - southwesterly 3y ago
      When I lived there, no. Kids learn to swim at a really early age and that’s it.
ianburrell 3y ago
USGS page: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/ci39645386/executive https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/ci39645386... The epicenter is up in hills near Ventura. Any damage would be confined to the hills and probably not very much of it.
desert_rue 3y ago
I was seated at a quick service place when this happened near LAX. I could feel it, but people at another table nearby engaged in a conversation missed it.
jcrash 3y ago
Didn't feel it here in SD, hurricane missed us too Really glad

21 points by maxbond 3y ago

Geez they can't catch a break. I'm glad they were already in a state of emergency and people were hopefully sheltering. My best wishes to the Southern Californians of HN

KZerda 3y ago
A 5.1 isn't going to do much damage in socal, especially where it was epicentered. Probably the worst is going to be knocked over liquor bottles at the supermarket. Awkward timing, but not a disaster.
CameronNemo 3y ago
Honestly the LA area is not getting much action. Little bit of rain. We kinda lucked out. Hopefully the next one misses us again.
Rebelgecko 3y ago
TBH a 5.1 is not a big deal unless you're right on top of it. People near the epicenter might have to readjust some pictures on their walls, but it's not the most densely populated area

robsh 3y ago

Saturated soil plus ground motion is a bad combination. Hopefully there’s not a more powerful aftershock tonight or tomorrow.

anjel 3y ago
Can't tell if you mean more efficient seismic energy transmission, fault lubrication effects, weight bearing effects on faults or another theory perhaps. Care to elaborate?
- maxbond 3y ago
  An earthquake is liable to trigger a mudslide if the ground is very wet.
- northwest65 3y ago
  Liquefaction was one of the more miserable results of the Christchurch earthquake.

bombcar 3y ago

M 5.1 - 7 km SE of Ojai, CA 2023-08-20 21:41:00 (UTC)34.409°N 119.188°W4.8 km depth

antod 3y ago
I (nowhere near California, but living in a seismic zone) was wondering how news worthy a 5.1 was until I saw the very shallow depth you posted. Yeah, you'll really feel that one if you're nearby.
- byteknight 3y ago
  30 mi from epicenter and got a google alert before the very mild shake. More tripped out about the pre-alert and how cool that was than the quake.
  - bombcar 3y ago
    Depending on how much pre alert you get you could have fun at the bar or with friends. Or Taco Bell.
- Etrnl_President 3y ago
  Remember: The Richter Scale is exponential.
  - fragmede 3y ago
    logarithmic

HDMI_Cable 3y ago

At this point, I think SoCal may just be cursed. Horrible traffic, smog from wildfires, a tropical storm, and an earthquake?! I think that should be a cue to move out before the LA river turns into blood or frogs start raining from the sky.

wkat4242 3y ago
Well building cities on a major fault line is more akin to cursing yourself IMO. I guess people are betting "the big one" won't happen during their lifetime. The same with traffic, as it's caused by poor planning. The others are really acts of nature. Ps not judging here, I'm just qualifying :) I'm from the Netherlands, from a part that was most decidedly below sea level which is also inviting disaster obviously. Especially with the rising sea levels. And one huge disaster also happened in the past. We also have an entirely human caused earthquake problem in the northeast due to the empty spaces left by natural gas extraction.
- AlotOfReading 3y ago
  To provide some context, the fault zone you're talking about runs the entire length of the Pacific coasts, from Chile to Alaska. It's larger than the entire Atlantic coast of mainland Europe several times over and extends inland for hundreds of kilometers. Outside the fault zone is mostly arid desert or something similarly hostile, excepting places like California with milder mediterreanean climates. "Don't build there" isn't really actionable.
- pro-kythera 3y ago
  > most decidedly below sea level Out of curiosity, are household-level defense measures at all common? Personal flotation and/or small boats, means for rooftop access, or such? I will guess there can be cultural differences vis-a-vis fatalism and lack of preparation.
  - southwesterly 3y ago
    When I lived there, no. Kids learn to swim at a really early age and that’s it.

ianburrell 3y ago

USGS page: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/ci39645386/executive https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/ci39645386... The epicenter is up in hills near Ventura. Any damage would be confined to the hills and probably not very much of it.

desert_rue 3y ago

I was seated at a quick service place when this happened near LAX. I could feel it, but people at another table nearby engaged in a conversation missed it.

jcrash 3y ago

Didn't feel it here in SD, hurricane missed us too Really glad