A 5.2 magnitude earthquake hit San Diego, CA, April 14 and the shock sent waves to surrounding areas.
The earthquake occurred early morning, at around 10:00 a.m. Individuals in San Diego received an alert shortly before so they could take cover and protect themselves from any possible danger.
Locals were partaking in their regular morning routines, some eating breakfast and others at work for the day, when they felt the shaking begin.
Long-time San Diego residents said the earthquake startled them and was worse than any others they had felt, though it did not cause much damage.
Throughout California, many have started to put together evacuation bags or boxes that are easily accessible to them due to the increasing number of wildfires and earthquakes occurring. Also, many have been considering fire and earthquake insurance to be as prepared as possible.
Alert San Diego warned people via cellular devices to drop and cover, as well as hold onto something sturdy. There were no major casualties mainly due to the precautions individuals were able to take.
Even though earthquakes are considered the hardest natural disasters to predict, scientific advancements have been developed to help detect waves. People are able to be alerted before the shaking strikes so they can get to safety.
This earthquake followed a 3.5 magnitude one that hit Julian, California. In the following hours after the major earthquake, a series of aftershocks with a magnitude of 3.0 shook surrounding areas.
The first aftershocks occurred just past 10 a.m. and went on for just about four hours, with the highest magnitude being 4.0.
Aftershocks are a normal process and serve as the Earth’s way of readjustment after a major event. Many also believe that the increased number of earthquakes in California recently could be relieving some pressure, taking away from the possibility of a majorly devastating earthquake later on.
In any case, it is important to prepare for future earthquakes down the line, as California experiences the second most amount of earthquakes out of all the United States.
