Earthquake Wakes Banning, Beaumont Residents: Did You Feel It?

BANNING, CA —Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Banning, Beaumont and surrounding Inland Empire communities awoke to a magnitude 3.5 earthquake just after 11:30 p.m. Monday. The epicenter was located a mere four miles from Palm Springs, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The quake was at a depth of 7.6 miles and occurred about seven miles from Banning, eight miles from Valle Vista, nine miles from San Jacinto, and nine miles from Beaumont, the USGS said. Shaking from the quake was felt as far away as Murrieta, Temecula and San Diego County.

Since the beginning of January, two magnitude 3.0 or greater earthquakes have been reported by the USGS, centered in the Palm Desert area.

An average of 234 earthquakes with magnitudes between 3.0 and 4.0 occur per year in California and Nevada, according to a recent three-year data sample.

City News Service contributed to this report.