Swarm of quakes felt across region (CA), stronger quake possible in next 24 hours
Last edited Mon Aug 27, 2012, 02:00 AM - Edit history (1)
Source: East County Magazine
August 26, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – More than 200 earthquakes centered near Brawley in Imperial County have rocked our region in the past 24, many felt by residents across San Diego. The strongest measured 5.5 and 5.3 on the Richter scale; the most recent, a 5.1, rattled the area at 10 p.m.
View a map; hit “animation” to see the progression: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsanim/canv/.
According to the San Diego County Emergency website, the California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA) has conferred with scientists representing the California Geological Survey, US Geological Survey, Cal Tech and the Southern California Earthquake Center. Cal EMA is advising Imperial County that an increased likelihood exists for continued seismic activity for at least the next 24 hours, potentially including earthquakes larger than today's magnitude 5.5 earthquake.
Brawley has previously had swarms of quakes in the 1970s and 1930s. The Brawley fault cluster is tied to the San Andreas fault and is among the most seismically active places in California.
The area has recently been the site of fracking, a process known to cause earthquakes, ECM has learned.
Read more: http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/node/10818
Many schools will be closed tomorrow; a hospital was evacuated and there are reports of damage in the Brawley area primarily, and other nearby areas in Imperial County.
No damage in San Diego reported thus far though lots of people felt these and a larger jolt could cause problems, so stay tuned--we're rockin' and rollin' out here.
Big question I have....were these just normal quakes for the region, which is prone to them, or did the fracking going on out by Brawley have anything to do with this? This is a big geothermal resources area.
UPDATE: Article has been added with links to more info about the fracking though in such a seismically active area there's no way to be sure what caused these quakes:
The area has recently been the site of fracking, a process known to cause earthquakes, ECM has learned. This geothermal well is located at latitude 33.01, longitude 115.53: http://geosteam.conservation.ca.gov/Well/WellDetailPage.aspx?domsapp=1&apinum=02591452 The 5,5 quake was centered at latitude 33.02, longitude 115.55 http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/ci15200401#summary
A recent Los Angeles Times editorial detailed the dangers of fracking processes related to geothermal: http://opinion.latimes.com/opinionla/2012/03/fracking-ohio.html. Here is a photo of a geothermal plant on the Salton Sea near Brawley: link to www.pbase.com
This site, posted by fracking opponents, has maps suggesting fracking and drilling are going on atop or near the San Andrea Fault in the Brawley/Salton Sea area:
= new reply since forum marked as read
....Just how many of these Taps have been made. Mainly, it looks as though it is for Geothermal, but some up closer to the san andreas out on the east fringe you get more of the oil types.
http://maps.conservation.ca.gov/doms/doms-app.html
BTW - Zoom mid state near the Mexico border (between Salton Sea & the border) JIC 
The fracking might have something to do with the quakes. It depends on how much has been done, and probably in what time frame.
OTOH, quakes of this sort are very common there. Lots of faults.
