Many college students who are staying in San Diego for winter break got to feel at at least one of the earthquakes that hit the region today. The 5.8 magnitude earthquake was centered about 20 miles southeast of Mexicali, but it was felt by people throughout the Coachella Valley this morning. Some college students in San Diego decided to go home for winter break, but those who didn’t have a great story to tell their classmates when they return for classes in January. California frequently has earthquakes on a smaller scale, but they typically do not get above the 5.0 magnitude. There have also been a few aftershocks reported by USGS shortly after the initial quake, with the largest clocking in at a 4.9 magnitude. Luckily the San Diego County Sheriff’s office has reported no death or injury. Many people including local college students reported feeling shaking in buildings and homes, but that seems to be the extent of it thus far.

The main earthquake was only 4.3 miles deep, which is considered to be shallow and therefore more likely to cause damage. However this time it was not damaging to buildings or people in San Diego and Coachella Valley. California is known for having earthquakes, but that does not stop college students from being drawn to the state for their education, in addition to the sunny weather and beaches. Earthquakes are a part of life on the west coast just as their are tornadoes in the midwest and hurricanes on the east coast. Advanced detection technology continues to evolve and geologists hope to be able to better predict earthquakes in the future. The USGS will continue to monitor the area and look for any more aftershocks or new earthquakes in this region of Southern California.

Tags: california college, california news, earthquakes, San Diego

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 30th, 2009 at 12:01 pm and is filed under College News, california news. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.