A series of earthquakes on Thursday shook the Paso Robles area of California, where a magnitude-6,5 quake earlier this week killed two people, flattened historic buildings and caused $100-million in damage.
There were no reports of damage or injuries from the Christmas Day temblors, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department said.
The largest in the series of earthquakes had a magnitude of 4,4 and struck about 16km west-southwest of Paso Robles at about 3.50am, according to a preliminary report from the US Geological Survey (USGS). Several of the aftershocks had magnitudes of 3 or higher.
Monday’s temblor, centred near San Simeon, 40km west of Paso Robles, rumbled through the San Luis Obispo County countryside and beyond, causing the worst destruction in Paso Robles and scattered damage in other towns. Two women were found dead under the rubble after Paso Robles’ 19th-century clock tower building collapsed.
The earthquake was felt as far away as Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The USGS said after Monday’s earthquake that aftershocks were likely to continue along the fault system for months and that there was a 90% probability that aftershocks of 5 magnitude or greater would follow within a week. — Sapa-AP