Shallow M5.2 Earthquake struck on Tuesday Evening near Bakersfield in The United States.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on August 7th, 2024. Last updated September 13th, 2024.

Under land 19 miles from Bakersfield in The United States, a shallow and significant M5.2 earthquake occurred in the evening of Tuesday August 6th, 2024. The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake.

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Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in The United States, 19 miles (30 km) south-southwest of Bakersfield in California. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 7 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Aug 6, 2024 09:09PM (Los Angeles Time) - Aug 7, 2024 04:09 Universal Time.
Location:	19 mi SSW of Bakersfield, California, The United States. Coordinates 35°6'32"N 119°5'49"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.2 Detected by 196 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.2 .
Depth:	7 mi (12 km) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VII Very Strong On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Potential tsunami risk The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Potential tsunami risk

There is a potential tsunami risk in the aftermath of this earthquake, immediately evacuate to higher grounds away from coastal areas and monitor advice from local authorities. The US Geographic Survey organization has indicated a potential risk for tsunami's following this earthquake.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Minimal impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 96% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 100% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact.

Roughly 22 million people exposed to shaking

An estimated 22 million have been exposed to shaking (An MMI or Modified Mercalli Intensity level II or higher) as a result of this earthquake according scientific estimates published by the USGS.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is VII, which corresponds with very strong shaking and likely moderate damage. Roughly 10 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 14 million). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected.

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in The United States . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Lamont in California, The United States. Lamont is located 15 miles (24 km) southwest of the epicenter. Lamont experienced an earthquake intensity (MMI Scale) of roughly IV. That level implies light shaking and likely no damage.

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. Los Angeles is located 88 mi to the south-east and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage). Bakersfield is located 19 mi to the north-northeast and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Long Beach is located 106 mi to the south-southeast and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage).

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below. If places don't have intensity data available, it likely means the experienced impact in those places was fairly small.

Overview of nearby places

Earthquake Intensity Map

The graph below overlays a map of the region around the epicenter with earthquake intensity data provided by the US Geographic Survey. The highest intensity level detected for this earthquake is VII.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Shaking reported by 2 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 2 people have reported shaking in 2 places in Mexico.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico: 1 person.
• Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico: 1 person.

82 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 82 smaller aftershocks occurred. A 4.6 magnitude earthquake hit 48 sec later 1 mi (1.6 km) west of this earthquake.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.

In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major earthquake.

This is the strongest earthquake in 4 years

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since June 24th, 2020, when a 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit 112 mi (180 km) further north-east. An even stronger magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck on July 6th, 2019.

In total, 8 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.2 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every year.

Sources

Last updated 13/09/24 02:48 (). As more information on this earthquake becomes available this article will be updated. This article is automatically composed based on data originating from multiple sources.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake ci40865184
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20240807_0000052
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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