LOS ANGELES,CA – Officials are continuing to assess the damage caused by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake that rocked Southern California, sending tremors that could be felt in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and nearly 400 miles north in Sacramento. The quake on July 5 night caused fires, power outages and collapsed buildings. The powerful quake struck at around 8.20 p.m.
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on July 5 night and was centred near Ridgecrest, a community of 29,000 people on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada where a 6.4 temblor had hit on July 4 morning. July 5 quake lasted about 30 seconds and was the strongest in Southern California in 20 years. Thousands of aftershocks followed. An Indian-American owner of a motel in Ridgecrest town said a July 5 she thought they were not going to survive as the whole roof of the building would collapse on her and the guests.
The earthquake on July 5 struck 18 kilometres northeast of Ridgecrest, according to the US Geological Survey. It was five times bigger than the July 4 6.4 -magnitude earthquake, which was also centred near Ridgecrest.
Speaking to the media, Pinky Panchal and Niket Aggarwal, who own Super 8 motel in Ridgecrest said, “I was checking a customer in and I was at the front desk and we had this little shake at 8:05 so went out, we went back in and right after that what we saw was massive.
“It was the first time I experienced something like this. As such the whole building was going to collapse... people ran out on the road. The sound of earthquake, the whole building was shaking and I felt like the whole roof was going to fall down and it was bad, it was really bad what we experienced,” she said.
“I just started crying, I just felt whether we are going to survive this or not, and then like every moment I was feeling that it was and we just ran to the Super 8 sign. We and other guests just held each other tight we were waiting for the shakes to stop,” Panchal said.
Speaking with India Journal Dharmesh Kumar Patel of the Hindu Society of Inland Empire said that around six members of the Society visited the community in Ridgecrest on July 7 to show their support to those affected. They extended a hand of help to many seniors with water and other necessities. They also helped people organize their homes and businesses which were impacted by the quake.
Mark Ghilarducci, the director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, told the media that state officials didn’t yet have a full tally of injuries from the quake but most were minor to moderate. Governor Gavin Newsom formally requested a presidential emergency declaration for direct federal assistance to aid the affected communities.
The earthquake on July 5 struck 18 kilometres northeast of Ridgecrest, according to the US Geological Survey. It was five times bigger than the July 4 6.4 -magnitude earthquake, which was also centred near Ridgecrest.
Speaking to the media, Pinky Panchal and Niket Aggarwal, who own Super 8 motel in Ridgecrest said, “I was checking a customer in and I was at the front desk and we had this little shake at 8:05 so went out, we went back in and right after that what we saw was massive.
“It was the first time I experienced something like this. As such the whole building was going to collapse... people ran out on the road. The sound of earthquake, the whole building was shaking and I felt like the whole roof was going to fall down and it was bad, it was really bad what we experienced,” she said.
“I just started crying, I just felt whether we are going to survive this or not, and then like every moment I was feeling that it was and we just ran to the Super 8 sign. We and other guests just held each other tight we were waiting for the shakes to stop,” Panchal said.
Speaking with India Journal Dharmesh Kumar Patel of the Hindu Society of Inland Empire said that around six members of the Society visited the community in Ridgecrest on July 7 to show their support to those affected. They extended a hand of help to many seniors with water and other necessities. They also helped people organize their homes and businesses which were impacted by the quake.
Mark Ghilarducci, the director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, told the media that state officials didn’t yet have a full tally of injuries from the quake but most were minor to moderate. Governor Gavin Newsom formally requested a presidential emergency declaration for direct federal assistance to aid the affected communities.
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