Southern California has been hit by two earthquakes less than 30 minutes apart.
The earthquakes struck on Saturday morning and were felt by millions of people in the region.
The first had a magnitude of 3.5 on the Richter scale and occurred at 10:05 a.m. local time.
According to the US Geological Survey, the epicenter was 4.3 miles (6.9 kilometers) southeast of Ontario.
The second quake, measuring 3.9 on the Richter scale, struck at 10:34 a.m., with its epicentre in much the same place.
Southern California has been hit by two earthquakes less than 30 minutes apart southeast of Ontario
There are currently no reports of injuries or damage.
So far, California residents up to 74 miles (119 kilometers) from the epicenter have reported feeling the latest quake.
Earthquakes are common in the region, but rarely exceed magnitude 3.
However, in 2024, a record number of small earthquakes occurred in the state.
Geophysicists are now warning that California is at risk of a massive earthquake that will happen again a generation later.
“2024 has had more earthquakes than any year we’ve seen since 1988,” Caltech geophysicist Dr. Lucy Jones told reporters. “We should expect that to continue.”
Experts say a major earthquake in Southern California, typically defined as one measuring 7.0 or greater, could kill at least 1,800 people, injure 50,000, and cause more than $200 billion in damage.
The earthquakes were felt by millions of people in the region on Saturday morning
Geophysicists are now warning that California is at risk of a generation-defining massive earthquake
Dr. Jones noted that it is a common misconception that an increase in mini-earthquakes reduces the stress in subsurface plate tectonics, making a region quieter and less susceptible to “The Big One.”
She warned locals that the opposite is true.
“The most consistent feature of earthquakes is the relative number of large and small earthquakes,” Dr. Jones told local authorities. KTLA 5 Morning News on tuesday.
‘For every magnitude seven you have 10 magnitude sixes, 100 magnitude fives, 1,000 magnitude fours, etc.’
‘So, if your rate of [magnitude] “As the number increases by four, the probability of a larger number increases by about the same percentage,” the CalTech researcher explained.
There are concerns that the state could be hit by the “Great Stork” within the next decade. Researchers believe the San Andreas Fault ruptures about every 150 years.
If the Big One were to strike, “it would be a matter of tens of seconds before the shocks from a San Andreas event, which would affect the areas closest to Los Angeles, would reach our urban areas,” Jonathan Stewart of the University of California, Los Angeles, told DailyMail.com.