5.2 Magnitude Earthquake Near San Diego, California Reported Without Casualties

On the morning of April 14th at 10:08 am, a 5.2 magnitude earthquake struck the Julian area in northeast San Diego County, California.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the epicenter was approximately 5 kilometers (3 miles) southeast of Julian.

Several areas in Southern California, including San Diego, Orange County, Los Angeles, and Riverside County, felt the tremors. A reporter from Epoch Times in San Diego was in the Mira Mesa area at the time of the earthquake and felt significant shaking lasting about 3 seconds. San Diego is about 50-60 miles (80-100 kilometers) southwest of Julian.

The USGS reported that minutes after the main quake around 10 am, the mountainous town of Julian experienced several aftershocks ranging from 2.5 to 3.0 magnitude.

Residents of Los Angeles County, approximately 150 miles (240 kilometers) northwest of Julian, also reported feeling the earthquake.

At the time of the earthquake, the San Diego Epoch Times reporter received a text message notification from California’s earthquake early warning system, MyShake. The message read: “Earthquake detected. Drop, cover, hold on, protect yourself.”

During California’s earthquake drill day last October, Mark Benthien, the global coordinator for the ShakeOut, living in Los Angeles, told Epoch Times: “The earthquake drill is a reminder for people to remember how to protect themselves during an earthquake, by dropping, covering, and holding on.”

Kate Scharer, a geologist at the USGS office in Pasadena, told Epoch Times last October that although earthquakes cannot be predicted, geologists can issue alerts for earthquakes that have just begun. There are hundreds of earthquake monitoring stations in California used to detect the initial signs of shaking when an earthquake occurs.

She explained that when an earthquake happens, if at least three monitoring stations detect shaking, the system automatically sends out an alert. This can provide a few seconds or even longer advance warning for subsequent larger tremors. The lead time depends on factors such as the time between the initial seismic wave detection and the alert being issued, as well as the distance from the epicenter.

There have been no immediate reports of casualties or damages.