Swarms of Earthquakes shake California in recent days as officials warn the cost of yearly quake damage nears $10 BILLION – up 157% from six years ago
- Southern California was hit with multiple earthquakes over the weekend
- Quakes come as California continues to see uptick in natural occurrences
- New report indicates damage nears $10B per year, up 157% from six years ago
A swarm of earthquakes hit Southern California over the weekend as the Golden State continues to see a massive uptick in the cost of quake damage.
One earthquake that shook the Salton Sea region – located south of Joshua Tree – registered as a 4.5 in magnitude on the Richter scale.
The first earthquake occurred near the U.S.- Mexico border town of Herber around 12pm Saturday and more than four dozen tremors were subsequently registered over the next 18 hours, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
The latest quakes come after a new report from USGS indicated that California is projected to lose an average of $9.6 billion a 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 massive uptick in the cost of quake damage
The latest quakes come after a new report from USGS indicated that California is projected to lose an average of $9.6 billion a year from earthquake damage
That estimated cost is a 157 percent jump from 2017 when it was just $3.7 billion a year
The earthquake and tremors in Herber reached up to 3.7 in magnitude.
According to USGS, around 60 residents felt the first quake and the following tremors.
A second series of earthquakes struck near Niland, a town 40 miles north of the border. After the first, more than 25 tremors shook the area after midnight Sunday.
There, the earthquakes lasted until 5.28am and reached a magnitude of 4.5.
Those tremors were felt by roughly 30 people in the area.
Between the Herber and Niland earthquakes, a 3.2-magnitude quake hit the shore of the Salton Sea around 10.55pm.
At this time, there are no reports of damage or injuries from any of the quakes.
Seismologists say in the most recent report that California and Nevada have seen around 230 earthquakes each year between magnitudes of 3.0 to 4.0.
In the latest hazard report from the USGS, published in April, the organization outlines the potentially catastrophic damage that could come from the quakes.
‘In any given year a big earthquake strikes … you can easily anticipate a $100-billion loss,’ USGS research structural engineer Kishor Jaiswal told The Los Angeles Times.
Multiple earthquakes shook the Southern California area Saturday and Sunday
Between the Herber and Niland earthquakes, a 3.2-magnitude quake hit the shore of the Salton Sea around 10.55pm
Seismologists say in the most recent report that California and Nevada have seen around 230 earthquakes each year between magnitudes of 3.0 to 4.0
‘In any given year a big earthquake strikes … you can easily anticipate a $100-billion loss,’ 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 that can be hit by earthquakes at a projected annual loss of $3.3 billion a year
California has been hit with numerous devastating earthquakes in the past that have left areas scrambling to rebuild for years – if not decades – afterward.
According to the new USGS report, Los Angeles and Orange counties are the most costly places that can be hit by earthquakes at a projected annual loss of $3.3 billion a year.
Right behind the Southern California places is the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley metro area, with a projected loss of $1.8 billion a year.
Shockingly, the report also indicates California’s expected costs make up around 65 percent of the nation’s total damages.
Over the next three decades, California is projected 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 around $90 billion.
‘It’s a sobering reminder about why we need to prepare for those rare but large earthquakes, as just one major event can eclipse the costs of the more frequent but smaller ones,’ USGS Director David Applegate said in a statement.