Dozens of earthquakes have struck far beneath the Inglewood area in the past two days, most of them following a 4.0 magnitude temblor that shook much of Southern California awake early Monday morning.
The swarm of 87 quakes began at 4:15 a.m. Monday, with the biggest hitting about half an hour later and the most recent at about 1:05 p.m. Tuesday.
But the seismic event appears to be ebbing on its second day, when only four quakes occurred, the largest one a magnitude 2.4, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The quakes have all been epicentered more than 8 miles deep — making it unlikely the smaller ones are being felt by anyone, since they’re so far away from the source of shaking. Los Angeles area earthquakes are typically 3 miles deep, USGS geophysicist Paul Caruso told the Los Angeles Times.
Only one person reported feeling shaking to USGS following Tuesday’s 2.4 magnitude quake.
That’s lucky, because the swarm is centered just east of the Los Angeles International Airport — one temblor Tuesday had an epicenter at the corner of Century and Aviation boulevards.
According to seismologist Lucy Jones, the deep fault where the quakes are occurring is so small that it’s likely not included on maps.
The large number of aftershocks is not a cause for concern, another USGS geophysicist, Don Blakeman, told the Times.
“It doesn’t raise a red flag,” he said. “It’s not unusual to have a swarm of quakes, and almost all of them will be small.”
Blakeman added that even though they’re not being felt by humans, the temblors could be affecting your pet, since animals can sense P-waves that travel faster from earthquakes, ahead of the S-waves that deliver shaking.
