A small earthquake jolted L.A.'s coastal communities today, creating an online buzz so great that it proved the world really does revolve around the Westside.
Rafael Amado Deras / Flickr
The jolt of a temblor struck at 2:08 p.m. ...
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The prototype earthquake-warning system we told you about almost a year ago really works.
Earthquake face by Bethany L King / Flickr
It wasn't its first time in action, but Monday's SoCal Anza earthquake put the Caltech-USGS "Shake Alert" system to a high-profile test.
The system's alarm bells rang and as many as 30 seconds warning came to urban L.A. after the 4.7 temblor first started rocking:
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A moderate earthquake rocked Southern California this morning.
USGS
And yes you felt it. From Las Vegas to San Diego to Culver City. And it was only a 4.7, says the U.S. Geological Survey.
The quake was reported at ...
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Little-known fact: The U.S. Geological Survey has an earthquake-warning system called "Shake Alert."
Sen. Alex Padilla with Lucy Jones of the USGS.
It's in prototype form and would only warn a select few (including the Los Angeles' Emergency Operations Center) a maximum of 90 seconds before a big one sets off sensors. The general public would not be warned. Yet. It's not much, but it's something.
L.A. state Sen. Alex Padilla wants that kind of system to warn all of us if the big one is coming:
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When the "big one" hits, who will rescue the rescuers?
Eric Gelinas / Flickr
Nearly 20 years ago that job went to Mike Kubeisy, a neighbor who pulled LAPD Officer Joseph Jordan, his wife and three other residents out of the same Northridge Meadows Apartments complex following the Jan. 17, 1994 temblor that measured 6.7 and took 57 lives.
Kubeisy's actions allowed Jordan ...
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Something about "stable" zones of earth that sound so, well, stable.
smi23le
In fact, earthquake experts once believed that stable segments acted "as barriers to fast-slipping, shake-producing earthquake ruptures," says Caltech.
Now? Not so much: Scientists at the Pasadena school have discovered that such areas can be sleeping giants that can uncoil during super-quakes. Bad news for SoCal?
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If you've noticed that the Ring of Fire around the Pacific Rim seems to rock like a frat party every time there's a giant earthquake, new science might just back up your observation.
Martin Luff / Flickr
A new study by U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Fred Pollitz documents how the Pacific Rim went bonkers following the 8.6 East Indian Ocean quake of April 11.
Quakes were set off as far away (and as close to us) as ...
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See also: "8.6 Quake Possible in Southern California? Caltech Suggests New 'Mega-Earthquake'."
USGS Did You Feel It? Yes we did.
As the Westside lay its collective head to rest last night after a terribly lackluster VMA ceremony, we finally got the jolt we'd been waiting for -- in the form of a 3.5 3.4 magnitude earthquake directly beneath Beverly Hills. It was the second to hit the 90210 in a single week.
Last night's (or, technically, this morning's) quake rattled through at exactly 12:03 a.m., dealing a...
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An underground thunderstorm of seismic activity, officially called a "seismic swarm," hit a farm town called Brawley in the Imperial Valley yesterday -- gearing up around sunrise with some magnitude 2s and 3s, peaking with a magnitude 5.3 and 5.5 just after noon, and rolling into Monday morning with some magnitude 4s and 3s.
@Kabawl via Twitter "Too close for comfort."
This, according to U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist Nancy King, who says the quakes are "still going" at this very moment. "There have been over 200 events so far," she says.
This marks the first "significant" swarm in the area since...
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*8.6 Quake Possible in Southern California?
A little baby earthquake jolted parts of Southern California tonight.
The 4.4 temblor was centered about 2.2 miles northeast 1 mile north-northeast of Yorba Linda, which is in northeast Orange County, and struck at 11:23 p.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
We did not feel it in our particular neck of the Westside woods, but many of you did:
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Update: U.S. Geological Survey spokeswoman Elizabeth Cochran says the magnitude has been downgraded to a 3.7. She says the "jolt" effect had to do with the earthquake being "directly underneath" the L.A. metropolitan area.
earthquake.usgs.gov The quake, as crowd-sourced by 5,400 locals.
Just call it the Little One.
The Earth readjusted itself about five-and-a-half miles beneath Marina Del Rey at 3:18 a.m. this morning, reports City News Service.
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See also:
Ben+Sam / Flickr
*4.4 Near Yorba Linda: Earthquake Weather?.
In recent years, scientists, first responders and utilities have been preparing for "The Big One," that inevitable quake that will rock Southern California to its core. It's coming. For sure. They just don't know when.
But the U.S. Geological Survey and Caltech have been on the ball, working from a likely scenario, a simulated "Shakeout" (see video after the jump) that would have a 7.8 quake hitting greater L.A. It would be deadly, destructive and put us in the dark for days, if not weeks.
Unfortunately, a 7.8 might now be too low of an estimate for The Big One:
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If the Big One hits, we're f---'d. You're saying, Yeah-yeah, tell me something I don't know.
Martin Luff
But here's the thing: Experts say our only hope of getting power back 72 hours after a huge earthquake in Southern California is the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. As you might have heard, the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station has been down for months.
No-nukes activists like this, of course. But consider what we'd face if the San Andreas Fault were to explode today:
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Do you live in Pasadena, South Pasadena or San Marino? Do you keep your computer on 24/7, against the pleas of Southern California Edison? (Or are you willing to start keeping it on in the name of "crowd-sourced seismology"?)
Caltech Community service.
Then Caltech wants very much to come to your home and install a creepy little seismometer -- about the size of a wallet and worth $100.
Once enough small black boxes have been installed (the goal for now is 1,000)...
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A 4.0 earthquake struck near Malibu last night, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
tensaibuta
It wasn't a result of David Geffen rattling his saber to ensure that outsiders don't come to the public beach outside his home. Nor was it John McEnroe throwing a tantrum. It wasn't a raucous anti-Semitic festival at Mel Gibson's house, either.
According to the USGS ...
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What if we were to tell you that L.A. has an earthquake warning system that pretty much works, but that only a few folks will get the precious alerts?
Eric Gelinas Northridge, 1994.
It's true.
The U.S. Geological Survey's prototype "Shake Alert" system has been running since January. It can theoretically warn you as much as 90 seconds before the Big One hits. Here are the institutions that would be warned if it happened today:
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Last week, L.A. Weekly reported on how Metro may have manipulated a seismic study to move the Westside Subway Extension station in Century City. That story can be viewed here.
BHUSD is fighting until the bitter end
The move would result in $60 million more in publicly-subsidized Measure R funds and would require tunneling under Beverly Hills High School. Beverly Hills Unified School District, understandably, is not too thrilled with the results.
Burrowing under the school could endanger future development on the high school campus and inhibit the school district from using $334 million in recently passed subsidies. So, BHUSD is fighting back.
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You see, East Coast, this is how the pros do earthquakes.
Camp and Hotel Siesta
A 4.3 hit Southern California (4 miles southeast of Newhall, to be precise), and we barely even noticed. In fact, much of the LA Weekly daily news staff was at lunch and didn't notice at all.
You want to know why?
The 'Big One" -- you know, the One you can't seem to push from your mind during rooftop parties atop decrepid downtown buildings, especially each time a semi rolls by -- is coming. Dramatic, yes, and over-exploited by Hollywood (a la "Battle: Los Angeles"), and not worth stressing over in advance, but very real.
The redder, the more potential damage inflicted by Big One. Good luck, L.A.
In 2005, a University of California study predicted the Big One would hit sooner than later...
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