Second powerful earthquake hits southern California

RIDGECREST: An earthquake with a magnitude as large as 7.1 has jolted much of California, cracking buildings, igniting fires, breaking up roads and causing several injuries.

The quake — preceded by Thursday’s 6.4-magnitude tremor in the Mojave Desert — was the largest southern California earthquake in at least 20 years and was followed by a series of aftershocks, some with a magnitude above 5.0.

Seismologists warn there is a one-in-10 chance that another 7.0-magnitude quake could hit within the next week, while the likelihood of a 5.0-magnitude tremor “approaching certainty”.

Friday night’s quake hit at 8.19pm local time (4.19am on Saturday in the UK) and was centred 11 miles from Ridgecrest in the same area where Thursday’s tremor hit. But it was felt as far north as Sacramento, as far east as Las Vegas and as far south as Mexico.

The area in and around Ridgecrest, already trying to recover from the previous quake, took the brunt of damage. Several thousand people are without power, and there are reports of cracked buildings.

Mark Ghillarducci, director of California Office of Emergency Services, said: “There are significant reports of structure fires, mostly as a result of gas leaks or gas line breaks throughout the city.” It is expected that more damage may become apparent in daylight.

Meanwhile, a rockslide closed State Route 178 in Kern River Canyon, where photos from witnesses also showed that a stretch of the road had sunk. San Bernardino County firefighters reported cracked buildings and one minor injury.

In central Los Angeles, 150 miles away, offices in skyscrapers rolled and rocked for at least 30 seconds. Andrew Lippman, who lives in suburban South Pasadena, was sitting outside and reading the paper when Friday’s quake hit.

“It just started getting stronger and stronger, and I looked into my house and the lamp started to sway. I could see power lines swaying,” he said. “This one seemed 45 (seconds)... I’m still straightening pictures.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom activated the state office of emergency services operations centre “to its highest level”.