There was no immediate word of casualties or damage.
The reading, issued by the US Geological Survey, was based on the open-ended Moment Magnitude scale, now used by US seismologists, which measures the area of the fault that ruptured and the total energy released.
The USGS initially reported the quake's magnitude at 5.5, but later downgraded it to 5.1.
The epicenter of the tremor, which occurred at 8:18 pm (0418 GMT Saturday), was located in the Mojave Desert 57 kilometers (35 miles) east of the town of Barstow, the survey said.
Kate Hutton, staff seismologist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, told KCAL 9 television the earthquake had been downgraded to 5.1 from 5.5.
"It happened at 8.18 pm in the Mojave Desert. At least nine small aftershocks. The biggest large town is 35 miles away. There's really not too much out there to damage," Hutton said.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g2FGekpfduWvK9i3tadHfucxvq6g
No comments:
Post a Comment