6.9 earthquake in Baja California

[malaise]

That's serious.

sp.

[BuyingThyme]

1. Yes, that's a real one.

[malaise]

5. Yep - I hope people are OK

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local-beat/69-Quake-Felt-in-San-Diego-52369142.html
An earthquake measuring 6.9 struck Monday in Mexico but San Diego's City hall was evacuated soon after the rattling started.

The U.S. Geological Survey reports the quake struck at 11 a.m. about 50 miles northeast of Santa Isabel in Baja, Calif.

At San Diego's City Hall one city employee reported seeing crowds of people filing out of the building. By 11:30 a.m., the crowd of people had returned to the building.

We've gotten reports from two people working on higher floors at two separate downtown high rises saying books fell of shelves and file cabinets rocked.

[Maru Kitteh]

2. Jeezuz. Our thoughts go out to everyone. 6.9. Yikes.

Did you just see it or have a link?

[malaise]

7. Link

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local-beat/69-Quake-Felt-in-San-Diego-52369142.html

GEM$NBC were discussing it.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

3. That is a very healthy quake.

:scared: Hopefully everyone is OK down there.

[Warpy]

4. It was shallow, too

The closest town is 76 miles away, though, so maybe damage will be limited.

I'll bet the Sea of Cortez is sloshing a bit.

[malaise]

9. That's the best news

PHEW!!!

[Parker CA]

6. Wow. That's a real shaker. No bueno.

[Junkdrawer]

8. Mexico?

:shrug:

[malaise]

10. It really is Mexico

for real.

[tekisui]

12. In the Gulf of California, off Mexico coast, according to CNN.

[malaise]

24. GEM$NBC are now saying Mexico

at last

[newspeak]

11. WOW, just this morning

hubby and I were talking over coffee and I told him that I believe that southern CA would probably have a major earthquake, instead of northern california. I meant really down South near San Diego. We discussed how the Baja Peninsula may have been caused by a cataclysmic earthquake thousands of years ago. Talk about synchronicity!!! 6.9 is a biggie--I hope people are okay!!!! :-(

[malaise]

Prescient

Damn!

[Xithras]

27. No, the Baja is caused by North America ripping itself apart.

The San Andreas is slowly pulling the western edge of North America northward and eventually away from the rest of the continent. At some point millions of years from now, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and the rest of the coast west of the San Andreas will exist on an island. Baja is merely the southern portion of that future island, which has pulled away before the northern half has.

By the way, the actual "rift" extends all the way to Palm Desert. If you've ever wondered where all the dirt from the Grand Canyon went: It flowed down the Colorado and was dumped into the northern end of the Gulf of California. Eventually, enough sediment flowed out that it completely filled the northern end of the sea and created the Imperial Valley. Still, the rift is there, gradually widening, just covered by some sediment.

[newspeak]

46. well, we were actually discussing Velkovsky's theory that some

land changes have happened by cataclysmic event like earthquakes. It's a theory that we were discussing with earthquakes and nothing I'd flame over.

[mod mom]

13. Info:

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsus/Maps/US2/29.31.-114.-112_eqs.php

[tekisui]

17. Damn, there was a 5.8 just a few minutes before the 6.9 just to

Southwest.

[Xithras]

14. Looks like it was in the gulf, not under land

That part of the Gulf of California isn't heavily populated, and the quake happened pretty far out at sea, so hopefully the impact on people will be fairly minimal. The only thing that worries me about a quake of that size is building standards in that area. Even if it only has the effective force of a 4 mag EQ when it reaches a populated area, the brick adobe construction still popular in rural Mexico can crumble.

[Parker CA]

15. Could make for some pretty big surf down there. Tsunami warning?

[malaise]

23. Didn't hear about a warning

You would think there would be a warning

[tekisui]

31. NO tsunami warning--LINK:

http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/2009/08/03/20090803phx-tremors-ON-CR.html

A 6.9 magnitude quake is considered a "strong" tremblor and can cause considerable property damage if it occurs in a populated area, according to the Geological Survey. The National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration issued a statement that "a tsunami IS NOT expected along the California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, or Alaska coast. NO tsunami warning, watch or advisory is in effect for these areas."

The statement further read, "Based on the earthquake magnitude and historic tsunami records, a damaging tsunami IS NOT expected along the California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska coasts. At coastal locations which have experienced strong ground shaking, local tsunamis are possible due to underwater landslides."

more...

[Xithras]

32. Probably no tsunami's

Tsunami's aren't caused by earthquakes, but by landslides or ground displacements those quakes generate. The San Andreas is a strike-slip fault and usually doesn't create a lot of vertical offset, and that area of the Gulf of California has a fairly flat seafloor, so there isn't much chance of a large undersea landslide.

It's always a possibility, but not a very big one in this instance.

[Parker CA]

43. Thanks for the info and explanation. :)

[cherokeeprogressive]

16. And a 5.8 five minutes before that.

In the exact same location.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_all.php

[malaise]

18. Three of them

MAP 6.9 2009/08/03 18:00:00 29.372 -112.814 10.0 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.8 2009/08/03 17:55:24 28.976 -112.988 10.3 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.0 2009/08/03 17:55:24 28.976 -112.988 10.3 GULF OF CALIFORNIA

[cherokeeprogressive]

20. I noticed that but what I don't understand is how you can have two earthquakes

at the same location at the same exact moment that have different magnitudes. That's why I didn't mention the 5.0.

[aquart]

19. And a 5.0 right before that.

Busy day in tectonics.

[Speck Tater]

21. THREE quakes now. All within about 25 to 30 miles of each other.

Map: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsus/Maps/US2/28.30.-114.-112.php

[Speck Tater]

25. Update: Same map now says FIVE quakes. nt

[tekisui]

28. Most recently a 6.0 and closer to land.

Damn, it's a rumbling day.

[malaise]

30. The latest one is a 6.0 to boot

MAP 6.0 2009/08/03 18:40:53 29.568 -113.578 11.0 IS. ANGEL DE LA GUARDA, BAJA CALIF, MEX.
MAP 5.0 2009/08/03 18:33:34 28.931 -113.022 10.0 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
MAP 6.9 2009/08/03 18:00:00 29.372 -112.814 10.0 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.8 2009/08/03 17:55:24 28.976 -112.988 10.3 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.0 2009/08/03 17:55:24 28.976 -112.988 10.3 GULF OF CALIFORNIA


Makes me wonder if a bigger one isn't on the way. Let's give thanks that the area is not heavily populated.

[cherokeeprogressive]

33. My version of that page no longer shows the bottom 5.0 quake n/t

[nadinbrzezinski]

49. Well, mother nature is letting us know

remember the San Andreas? Yes, that is part of the San Andreas.

This should be fun, not

[The Straight Story]

22. Freepers claiming it was centered in Kenya

:hide:

[malaise]

26. GEM$NBC is saying Arizona may have felt this

more than California. WTF????

[CaliforniaPeggy]

29. Arizona is closer to the Gulf than most of California...

[uppityperson]

40. bwahahahahahahaha nt

[SpiralHawk]

42. "Actually, revenge for perverted Republicon Family Values." - Gee Hover

[kestrel91316]

34. I didn't feel a thing here in LA. And normally I feel every little quiver, lol.

[Bertha Venation]

35. See this page; refresh for updates.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/dyfi/events/us/2009jwbh/us/index.html -- go to the "Responses" tab to see where it was felt.

My sister felt it in Santa Ana.

[malaise]

36. Thanks Berta Venation

:hi:

[FirstLight]

37. That's the San Andreas Fault, yes?

It's long overdue and has not released in a big way since the Loma Preita I think.... there was a simultaneous little series of quakes up north in Santa Rosa Area CA today at 11:00 am...

[cascadiance]

38. Much as I've hated the heat wave here in Portland last week, I don't miss the fires and earthquakes

... down in California when I was in San Diego and the Bay Area...

Hmmm... I wonder if our excessive warm weather up here might have been linked to moving the plates down there!... Hopefully it won't trigger some big eruption of Mount St. Helens up here!

[malaise]

41. That was some unusual heat in your part of the planet

Pretty normal for us in Jamaica although we just had our hottest July since 1994.

[Hepburn]

39. Way serious....

...big quake.

The 1989 Loma Prieta SF quake was a 6.9.

[newspeak]

44. and our Vegas news just reported

that Las Vegas had a "quakette" around 3.4 and Northern nevada had one today, I believe near Reno that was near 5.0.

[cherokeeprogressive]

45. There was a 3.4 in near Bishop at 12:21.

Wonder if that could have been it? No listing of a 5.0 near Reno.

[newspeak]

47. our news in Vegas is saying it was near the Vegas area

they're saying most of us probably didn't even feel it. I sure didn't feel it, if it happened.

[newspeak]

48. I'm looking at the USGS map

and I don't see any quakes today in northern or southern nevada. I don't know what the hell our local news is talking about!

[slackmaster]

50. I didn't feel anything - was probably on the road at the time

In San Diego.