Major Quake in Mexico Rocks Southwestern US, Kills at Least 2

Magnitude 7.2 quake felt by at least 20 million people from Tijuana to Los Angeles; others are feared trapped in their homes.

related: Mexico Earthquake Could Trigger More Powerful Shaking

Photo: This home in Mexicali collapsed from the force of Easter Sunday's 7.2 magnitude quake. (Twitter user: elbetOe)

April 5, 2010
KTLA News

LOS ANGELES-- At least two deaths are being blamed on a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that was centered in Baja California, Mexico and felt all over Southern California on Easter Sunday, rocking high rise buildings from San Diego to Los Angeles.

Photo: A new road fissure in Mexicali. (Twitter user: polyvf)

Both deaths occurred in Mexico, officials said.

One man died when his home collapsed on him, according to Baja California state Civil Protection Director Alfredo Escobedo. The man's home was very close to the quake's epicenter, just outside Mexicali.

A second man was killed when he panicked as the ground shook, ran into the street and was struck by a car.

According to Escobedo, there were reports of people trapped in collapsed homes in Mexicali and rescue teams from nearby Tijuana were called in to help.

The quake struck about 6 miles below the earth's surface at 3:40 p.m. PT Sunday, about 110 miles east-southeast of Tijuana, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

After examining data, seismologists upgraded the size of Sunday's 25-second quake from a magnitude 6.9 to 7.2, according to Dr. Lucy Jones of Caltech.

Photo: Post-quake cleanup at a store in Calexico, Calif. A magnitude 7.2 quake centered in Baja California, Mexico, caused damage on both sides of the border and could be felt as far as Los Angeles and Phoenix. (Sandy Huffaker / Getty)

"This is the largest earthquake since the [7.3 magnitude] Landers earthquake of 1992," Jones said, "A 7.2 is going to happen over a pretty long fault, probably close to 50 miles long." Seismologists are working to determine which of a series of faults the quake occurred on.

According to reports, the temblor's force caused high-rise buildings in San Diego to sway back and forth around 30 seconds before rocking high-rise buildings in downtown Los Angeles.

Caltech officials report that over 20 million people felt shaking related to the 7.2 magnitude earthquake.

Strong shaking was reportedly felt as far away as Las Vegas, Nevada and Yuma, Arizona.

Photo: A photograph provided via Twitter shows structural damage to the Escomex business school building after an earthquake in Mexicali, Mexico. (Jorge Rivera)

Several powerful aftershocks, including a 5.1 magnitude jolt, were felt in the hours after the initial magnitude 7.2 quake struck in Baja California, Mexico.

According to Jones, is is "reasonably likely" that the area could see even more "triggered earthquakes" around magnitude 6.0 in the next few days following the quake.

There are growing reports of damages emerging from Mexicali and Calexico, including structural damage, broken windows, leaking gas lines, loss of water services, and loss of electricity in portions of Northern Mexico. There are reports of substantial damage in the older section of Calexico.

The Los Angeles Fire Department dispatched forces for a complete survey of 470 sq miles in the greater Los Angeles area to examine transportation infrastructures.

"The earthquake emergency mode is complete and all resources are being rehoused. All fire stations completed their district drive through assessment with no significant damage or injuries reported. LAFD had slight increase in 911 call load mostly associated with automatic alarms and stuck elevators. Again no significant damage or injuries reported," said LAFD spokesperson Eric Scott.

Photo: Groceries fall off shelves at a store in Mexicali

Reports from Disneyland security indicate that the park's rides have been shut down to be checked for damage, as standard procedure after any earthquake.

The LAFD reports several instances of people being trapped in elevators, including one report of firefighters freeing a woman trapped on the 9th floor of a building at 10250 W. Constellation Boulevard in Century City , according to Scott.

A water main had burst in the area of Elysian Fields, but it is still unknown whether it was related to Sunday afternoon's temblor.

More than 5,000 Southern California Edison customers were affected following the shaking, mostly with about 30 seconds of flickering lights.

According to the USGS, the same area where Sunday's quake struck has been experiencing quakes around magnitude-3.0 sporadically throughout the week.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/ktla-earthquake,0,6948498.story