Earthquake in S. California

[#1]

The strongest earthquake for 20 years has hit Southern California.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-48891511

It registered 7.1 on the Richter Scale.

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[#2]

2nd earthquake in the area within a couple of days.  They keep saying a big one is a coming.

[#3]

Is this earthquake just near that main fault line rather than on it?

That one is supposed to erupt every couple of hundred years so if they are right, it's not due for the big one quite yet.   

[#4]

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@artmo wrote:

It registered 7.1 on the Richter Scale.

Moment Magnitude.

Seismology has moved on a bit since Richter and Gutenberg's day.

[#5]

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@DaveyH wrote:

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@artmo wrote:

It registered 7.1 on the Richter Scale.

Moment Magnitude.

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So has any authority publicly announced this particular earthquakes magnitude using that method?

I saw a shot of someones swimming pool earlier and it looked quite choppy, a bit choppier than a fart in the bath would cause for example.

[#6]

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@RobPN wrote:

So has any authority publicly announced this particular earthquakes magnitude using that method?

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The 7.1 being reported is using the Moment Magnitude scale.

Seismologists haven't used the Richter scale for years due to its inaccuracy, particularly in measuring large quakes

[#7]

a bit choppier than a fart in the bath would cause for example.

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Do you have any pictures for comparison ?

[#8]

This event serves as a wakeup call to residents of densely populated areas, like Los Angeles, that it is only a matter of time before the mighty San Andreas fault blows. A magnitude of 7.0 or higher in Los Angeles would likely cause widespread death and destruction.

[#9]

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@DaveyH wrote:

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@artmo wrote:

It registered 7.1 on the Richter Scale.

Moment Magnitude.

Seismology has moved on a bit since Richter and Gutenberg's day.

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@DaveyH  Thank you for the correction. I have just read an interesting article on the difference between the two scales.

https://www.iris.edu/hq/inclass/animation/magnitudes_moment_magnitude_explained

We spoke to friends who work in the ICU department of a hospital in the LA area. They were not put on alert but not called in and said things are generally getting back to normal.

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