A 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck California approximately 11.5 miles northeast of Ridgecrest on Friday night, the United States Geological Survey reported.  


(courtesy of Earthquake Robot, data from USGS) 

The earthquake was initially reported as having a magnitude of 7.1, was downgraded to a 6.9 and was again raised to a 7.1 by United States Geological Survey (USGS). 

The epicenter was approximately 158 miles from Isla Vista. One Nexus reporter reported feeling the earthquake for at least thirty seconds, with furniture visibly shaking; others on social media put the duration of the earthquake up to a minute long. 

Santa Barbara County “initiated earthquake protocol and all stations report no damage,” SBC Fire Spokesperson Mike Eliason tweeted out. 

The quake was the second to hit Southern California in the past two days, with a 6.6 magnitude quake – also centered by Ridgecrest – just yesterday and a 4.2 magnitude aftershock Friday morning. 

California hasn’t seen an earthquake of this magnitude since the Hector Mines earthquake in 1999. 

Correction [11:24 p.m.]: USGS is the United States Geological Survey, not the United States Geological Services. 

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Sanya Kamidi
Sanya Kamidi serves as the Deputy News Editor and before that was a Social Media Manager. Loves coffee and will find any excuse to miss class for the Nexus. She can be reached at skamidi@dailynexus.com or @skamidi on Twitter.