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Banning Earthquake Wakes Up Riverside County [Breaking News]

By Antonio J. Newell
Published on: 03:26 PST, Jan 6, 2016

The Banning earthquake registered a 4.5 magnitude around 6:42 a.m., January 6. If you’re a resident of Riverside county, California, you probably didn’t sleep in after that.

Residences felt the Banning earthquake in two stages. First, there were light tremors and rumbles. Next, almost a blast or surge — enough to ensure that everyone was alert and ready for work, so to speak.

According to ABC-7 News, “eyewitness news viewers in Moreno Valley, Rancho Mirage, San Bernardino, Temecula, Anaheim, Long Beach, Fullerton and Corona reported feeling” the Banning earthquake.

KTLA-5 News reports, “It was just south of the San Bernardino National Forest and some 2.5 miles north of the 10 Freeway. It was located some 4 miles north-northwest of Banning, 6 miles northeast of Beaumont and 9 miles east-southeast of Yucaipa.” After the earthquake, residences took to social media in a frenzy.

NBC-Los Angeles states that the Banning earthquake occurred within the San Andreas fault system and lasted nearly 5 seconds. Also, there were landslides on State Route 243, near Twin Pines Road in Banning.

From the looks of some of the tweets, the earthquake could be felt as far as an hour away, by conventional standards. Nevertheless, according to HomeFacts, it seems that Banning has a high probability for earthquakes, no less. Actually, the source states “very high risk level.” Since 1931, the city has encountered 11,495 earthquakes, to be exact. Likewise, Banning has a 99.7 percent probability that a 5.0 quake will hit the city in the next 50 years.

The source also states that the largest earthquake, near Banning, happened in 1992. It was only 30 miles away and registered 7.3 in magnitude.

If you’re a Californian, you’re no stranger to these natural phenomena as they happen daily — literally. According to HomeFacts, between January 5 and 6, within a 30-mile range of the city of Banning — alone — the area experienced five earthquakes. This most-recent makes the fifth. It had a depth of 1.6 kilometers and a distance of 1.34 miles.

The other four list as follows.

  • January 6 – 1.6 Magnitude – Depth of 17.8 kilometers – Distance of 1.75 miles – Near Cabazon, CA at 5:31 a.m.
  • January 6 – 1.1 Magnitude – Depth of 11.5 kilometers – Distance of 5.75 miles – Near Beaumont, CA at 6:23 a.m.
  • January 5 – 1.3 Magnitude – Depth of 8.5 kilometers – Distance of 1.93 miles – Near Mentone, CA at 9:25 p.m.
  • January 5 – 1.1 Magnitude – Depth of 9 kilometers – Distance of 1.57 miles – Near Mentone, CA at 6:17 p.m.

According to the Orange County Register, the earthquake was felt as far as Orange County as well. The source reports that there was no damage in the vicinity so far. The source says that Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Steve Concialdi stated, “We do have a couple of automatic fire alarms that might have been triggered by the earthquake, but there’s no damage.”

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office also received numerous 911 calls concerning the Banning earthquake. However, they weren’t due to injury. People were reporting the earthquake. To this, Sheriff Lieutenant Steve Gil said, “We do not recommend calling 911 (to report earthquakes).” To note, Banning is 69 miles from Orange County, says Google Maps — approximately an hour and 18 minutes, in moderate traffic.

Nevertheless, ABC-7 News also gave some helpful advice about dealing with the aftermath of earthquake devastation. Luckily, there was no major calamity and the city of Banning — as well as the rest of Riverside county — didn’t encounter something more serious and life-threatening.

What are your thoughts about the Banning earthquake? If you’re a resident of Riverside or San Bernardino counties, did it alarm you? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

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