A recent photo of surface faulting from the Friday, July 5, 2019, 7.1 Searles Valley earthquake were shared by the USGS recently.
The 7.1 earthquake that came only a day following the Thursday, July 4, 2019, 6.4 magnitude earthquake. The earthquakes and even large aftershocks shook the community both physically and mentally. Fortunately, only minor injuries were reported, but one man in Nevada who was under a vehicle died when the vehicle toppled off the jacks falling on him. Dozens of homes have been deemed uninhabitable and even more only partially habitable, a total of 82 residential structures, so far.
Commercial properties have also been affected, with eight completely uninhabitable and four partially inhabitable and four underground storage fuel tanks red-tagged. The Red Cross quickly moved in to the Ridgecrest area but help was delayed to Trona, where the damage was the worst. Members of other communities, some in nearby Ridgecrest and others from 100 or more miles away moved in providing donated goods until the county and others moved in to assist several days later.
The Searles Valley region has had thousands of aftershocks, but the Friday, July 5th earthquake literally shifted the earth approximately 8 feet, as seen on the dirt path in the photo.
This is a common occurrence for strong, shallow earthquakes leaving displacement of the earth’s surface.
