METTLER, Calif. (KERO — From Bakersfield — throughout Southern California — the 5.2 Magnitude earthquake that originated in Mettler rattled residents.
- Residents throughout the region receiving an alert potentially seconds before feeling the quake.
- USGS estimates half a million people received the alert and that number is still climbing.
- The data they got from the initial alert will help them improve their warning systems and speed.
From Bakersfield — throughout Southern California — the 5.2 Magnitude earthquake that originated in Mettler rattled residents.
"This event had a robust aftershock sequence,” said USGS Shake Alert team lead Robert Degroot.
With over 300 aftershocks following the initial quake the damage was limited. The biggest impact was a boulder that blocked parts of the I-5 Tuesday night and a hazmat situation at the Sun Pacific Cuties facility. While both issues were remedied overnight, the Wheeler Ridge Maricopa Water Storage District was left responding to multiple minor breaks in various lines.
Superintendent Greg Loveless told me while they were able to repair most of the damage from the initial quake, the amount of aftershocks has kept them responding all morning to additional breaks.
Degroot explained the data they've already been able to collect from shake up.
"The 1952 earthquake happened on something called the white wolf fault, he said. “But it just so happens that this particular event happened on a fault we hadn't previously identified."
Residents throughout the region receiving an alert potentially seconds before feeling the quake. Degroot said USGS estimates half a million people received the alert and that number is still climbing. The data they got from the initial alert will help them improve their warning systems and speed.
"For this particular earthquake we were able to get our first data set within about 7 seconds,” Degroot said. “That was actually 7 seconds from when the earthquake started in the earth and we didn't even know the earthquake was happening."
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