A seismic swarm shook the West coast of the United States and Mexico, and especially the border area of California and Baja California, with dozens of tremors in the early hours of Monday, according to the Geological Survey (USGS). .
The first earthquake was recorded after midnight (local time) with its epicenter in El Centro (California), about 210 miles southeast of Los Angeles, with a magnitude of 4.8, and was felt in San Diego and Mexican territory, according to the network. NBC News.
After that first tremor, an aftershock was recorded at 0:42 with a magnitude of 4.5, which was followed by another twenty tremors in El Centro and Imperial, east of San Diego and near the border.
No damage has been reported from the tremors, according to USA Today.
The USGS specified that the magnitude of the rest of the earthquakes ranged between 4.5 and 1.0.
“The Brawley seismic zone, near the border with Mexico, where the plate boundary transitions to a more extensional regime, is notoriously swampy, and woke up last night,” the US geological agency published on the social network X.
The USGS said that more than 800 people from places from Los Angeles to Parker, Arizona, told them they had felt tremors.
Seismic swarms consist of a series of tremors that occur consecutively and of similar intensities without decaying as usually happens with earthquakes where a main shock is generated and then increasingly smaller aftershocks.
The USGS explains that “there is no precise definition of when a sequence of large shocks and aftershocks becomes a swarm,” but it is considered such when “a relatively large number of earthquakes are observed in a relatively small area, which do not fit to the pattern of a main and subsequent tremor sequence.
Classes suspended in Mexico
The Mexican National Seismological Service notified about a 5.3 magnitude earthquake recorded at 2:36 in the morning southwest of the border town of Santa Isabel, Baja California, and that was also noted in towns such as Ensenada, Mexicali, Tecata and Tijuana.
The governor of Baja California, Marina del Pilar Avila Olmeda, asked citizens on her X account to “be calm,” adding that the first evaluations do not report damage.
“As a preventive measure," she said, "I have instructed that classes be suspended at all educational levels in the municipality of Mexicali, we will review the schools, that they are safe for our girls, boys and young people."
What to do in case of an earthquake?
To safeguard the lives of thousands of citizens, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) gives a series of tips on what to do in these types of situations based on the basic principle of: drop, cover and hold on. .
Indoor Places:
The CDC recommends staying calm and staying indoors and not running outside during the earthquake.
In addition, the agency specifies that you should
stay away from glass and other objects that could fall
, get on the floor on your hands and knees, and cover your head.
If possible, get under a table.
Outdoors:
It is essential to stay away from buildings, cables, drains and fuel and gas lines.
If the earthquake catches you by surprise while driving, the recommendation is to stop, move the car to a shoulder, put on the brakes and listen to the radio to pay attention to the information from the authorities.
When resuming the trip, be aware of any damage that may have been caused.
After the earthquake:
The first thing is to close the water faucets, turn off the electricity and avoid starting a fire.
The CDC asks not to use elevators and be alert for possible aftershocks.
Telephone lines should not be saturated and damaged buildings should not be entered.
If you are suddenly trapped, you must remain calm when shouting so as not to inhale dust and not harm another injured person.
The most important thing in any emergency is to stay calm and invite others to calm down, and stay informed, as this could save more lives at critical moments.