Quake Swarm Ramps Up With Sizable Overnight Aftershocks

PASADENA, CA — The quake swarm that never quite let up in the aftermath of last week's magnitude 7.1 Ridgecrest quake, picked up again this morning at a steady clip of 15 sizeable temblors hit.

Over a seven hour period from 2:21 a.m. to 9:01 a.m., 16 sizable earthquakes hit. The smallest was a magnitude 3.0 and the largest was a 3.9, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Over the last week, more than 1,350 quakes of magnitude 2.5 or larger have struck the region, and 29 of them have been magnitude 4.5 or larger.

The swarm of shallow quakes could be felt across the Searles Valley region on edge from nearly a week of relentless earthquakes. The deepest was 4.9 miles while the shallowest was .6 of a mile. Some of them struck less than a minute apart.

Some reported the feeling the temblors in the Los Angeles area. However, authorities don't expect the Searles Valley swarm to have any impact on the San Andreas faultline or other faults along the greater metropolitan area. A seemingly unrelated magnitude 2.1 earthquake epicentered in Redondo Beach hit at 10:06 p.m. Tuesday night.

The aftershocks are to be expected. Seismologists say they anticipate between 240 and 410 quakes of magnitude 3 or higher.

The USGS estimated a 3% chance of another earthquake of magnitude 7 or greater striking the region within the next week. The chance of a quake of magnitude 6 or higher was estimated at 27%, and it is most likely that as many as two such quakes will occur. The chance of a magnitude 5 or higher quake is 96%, with as many as eight likely to occur, the USGS said.

The Ridgecrest quakes -- including Friday's 7.1 -- were thought to have caused no fatalities. But the Sheriff's Office in Nye County, Nevada, says Thursday's 6.4 foreshock is now believed to have claimed the life of a 56-year- old man in Pahrump, shifting a car that was jacked up as the victim worked under the vehicle.

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• Hundreds Of Quakes Follow The Big One As California Keeps Shaking
• Earthquake Preparedness: Must-Have List

The 7.1 quake sent shockwaves across the region while damaging buildings, triggering fires and causing injuries in the Ridgecrest area. At magnitude 7.1, it was the largest quake to hit Southern California in decades.

City News Service and Patch Staffer contributed to this report.