Earthquake strikes Southern California Thursday: Did you feel it?
The earthquake could be felt in at least Palm Springs and Idyllwild. In south Palm Springs, it briefly shook walls before passing quickly.
It was initially reported as being a magnitude 4.6 before being downgraded. There were no reports of damage online in the immediate aftermath of the quake.
Earthquake near Riverside comes a day after tsunami warnings
The seismic activity recorded in Southern California came two days after a magnitude-8.8 earthquake was recorded just off the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula in eastern Russia. That quake, which was the most powerful since 2011, caused the entire West Coast of the United States to be placed under a tsunami alert as well as evacuations in Hawaii.
The massive waves anticipated along the U.S. coastline, however, never materialized. The LA Times reported waves about 2 to 3 feet high in California, with a high of nearly 6 feet in Hawaii.
Did the Russian earthquake impact California?
Although it may be natural to wonder whether the Russian quake caused increase seismic activity in California, the U.S. Geological Survey says that is not the case.
"Large earthquakes can occasionally trigger increased seismic activity at great distances," said USGS spokesperson Steven Sobieszcyk in an email to The Desert Sun. "However, we haven't seen a significant increase in earthquakes in the US following the magnitude 8.8 earthquake that occurred near Kamchatka, Russia, earlier this week."
He added that Thursday's earthquake was not unusual, and that California experiences an average of 80 magnitude 4 quakes each year.
"Large earthquakes in the US are always possible," he said, "and the occurrence of felt local earthquakes slightly raises the odds of subsequent earthquakes."
Sam Morgen covers the city of Palm Springs for The Desert Sun. Reach him at smorgen@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Earthquake strikes near Riverside today; shaking felt across Southern California
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