On Thursday, Southern California experienced the strongest earthquake in 20 years causing injuries and damage in a town near the epicenter.
What We Know:
- July 4 is a day spent to celebrate Independence Day in the United States. But for southern California residents, they spent their day avoiding the strongest earthquake in 20 years.
- The 6.4 magnitude quake struck at 10:33 a.m in the Mojave Desert, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northeast of Los Angeles, near the town of Ridgecrest, according to Mercury News.
- Kern County Fire Chief David Witt said multiple injuries and two house fires were reported in the town of 28,000. Emergency crews were also dealing with small vegetarian fires, gas leaks, and cracked roads.
- 15 patients were evacuated from the Ridgecrest Regional Hospital.
- Governor Gavin Newsome declared a state of emergency for Kern County.
The video below shows a liquor store in Ridgecrest with aisles filled with broken wine bottles, liquor bottles and other groceries.
A broken water main just outside the town of #Trona just 8 miles from the epicenter of today’s 6.4M earthquake pic.twitter.com/ddkRrmf7Lb
— Leticia Juarez (@ABC7Leticia) July 4, 2019
