Swarms of earthquakes have been shaking California in recent days as officials warn that the cost of annual earthquake damage is nearly $10BILLION – 157% more than six years ago
- Southern California was hit by multiple earthquakes this weekend
- Earthquakes are coming as California continues to see natural events rise
- New report indicates damage is nearly $10 billion a year, up 157% from six years ago
A swarm of earthquakes hit Southern California over the weekend, while the Golden State continues to see a huge increase in the cost of earthquake damage.
An earthquake that shook the Salton Sea area – located south of Joshua Tree – measured 4.5 on the Richter scale.
The first quake struck near the U.S.-Mexico border town of Herber around noon Saturday and more than four dozen tremors were subsequently recorded in the following 18 hours, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
The last earthquakes come after one new report from USGS indicated that California is expected to lose an average of $9.6 billion per year from earthquake damage.
That number is a 157 percent jump from 2017, when it was just $3.7 billion a year.
A swarm of earthquakes hit Southern California over the weekend as the Golden State continues to see a huge rise in earthquake damage costs
The latest earthquakes come after a new report from USGS indicated that California is expected to lose an average of $9.6 billion a year from earthquake damage
That estimated cost is a 157 percent increase from 2017, when it was just $3.7 billion a year
The Herber earthquake and tremors reached a magnitude of 3.7.
About 60 residents felt the first quake and subsequent tremors, according to USGS.
A second series of earthquakes hit Niland, a town 40 miles north of the border. After the initial shaking, more than 25 quakes hit the area after midnight on Sunday.
There, the earthquakes lasted until 5:28 am and reached a magnitude of 4.5.
The tremors were felt by about 30 people in the area.
Between the Herber and Niland earthquakes, a magnitude 3.2 earthquake struck the coast of the Salton Sea at around 10:55 p.m.
At this time, there are no reports of damage or injuries from any of the earthquakes.
Seismologists say in the most recent report that California and Nevada have seen about 230 earthquakes each year ranging in magnitude from 3.0 to 4.0.
In the USGS’s latest hazard report, published in April, the organization outlines the potentially catastrophic damage the earthquakes could cause.
“In any given year, a major earthquake hits… you can easily expect a loss of $100 billion,” USGS survey engineer Kishor Jaiswal told The Los Angeles Times.
Multiple earthquakes shook the Southern California region on Saturday and Sunday
Between the Herber and Niland earthquakes, a magnitude 3.2 earthquake struck the coast of the Salton Sea at around 10:55 p.m.
Seismologists say in the most recent report that California and Nevada have seen about 230 earthquakes each year ranging in magnitude from 3.0 to 4.0
“In any given year, a major earthquake hits … you can easily expect a loss of $100 billion,” USGS research structural engineer Kishor Jaiswal told The Los Angeles Times
According to the new USGS report, Los Angeles and Orange counties are the most costly places to be affected by earthquakes with an expected annual loss of $3.3 billion per year
California has been hit by numerous devastating earthquakes in the past, forcing areas to rebuild years—if not decades—afterward.
According to the new USGS report, Los Angeles and Orange counties are the most costly places to be affected by earthquakes with an expected annual loss of $3.3 billion per year.
Directly behind the Southern California localities is the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley metro area, with an expected loss of $1.8 billion per year.
Shockingly, the report also indicates that California’s projected costs account for about 65 percent of the nation’s total damage.
Over the next three decades, California is expected to lose $288 billion.
Five counties in Southern California — Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties — could lose nearly $150 billion.
Nine counties in the San Francisco Bay Area would lose about $90 billion.
“It’s a sobering reminder of why we need to prepare for those rare but large earthquakes, as only one major event can overshadow the cost of the more frequent but smaller ones,” USGS Director David Applegate said in a statement.