Dozens of aftershocks have been reported since, including a 5.4 magnitude tremor Friday morning.
Business owner Christian Catlin said, “Our inventory got absolutely destroyed by it. It was a freight train that hit our office.”
Residents in southern California are facing the daunting task of cleaning up while dealing with dozens of new tremors, some of them significant.
“Tremors were non-stop,” Catlin said. “We actually got in the car and were thinking about leaving.”
Thursday’s earthquake—a magnitude 6.4—was centered near Ridgecrest, about 150 miles northeast of Los Angeles.
Ridgecrest resident Cindy Holbrook said, “I’ve been in a lot of earthquakes here in southern Cal, the big ones in L.A. and this was like the worst.”
Surveillance videos from shops and restaurants all show similar scenes: frightening moments as lights swing, items fall from shelves, and employees run to safety.
The quake downed power lines, cracked roads and some residents weren’t able to get back to their homes Friday.
Ridgecrest Mayor Peggy Breeden said, “We have approximately 30 people sheltering in our emergency centers right now. There were some homes that were knocked off foundations.”
Amazingly, no serious injuries were reported. But officials say it’s likely the aftershocks could continue for days and possibly weeks.
Jeremy Kern with San Bernadino County Fire said, “The concern being the aftershocks. Obviously, with Mother Nature, there’s nothing you can predict. You can’t say when or if something is going to happen. But as the days go on, in working with the different official agencies that are going to monitor that, those are our concerns is additional aftershocks, which could cause a potential hazard.”
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