Southern California under earthquake advisory

The California Office of Emergency Services issued an earthquake advisory for Southern California. It comes after more than 200 small earthquakes hit the Salton Sea this week. The counties affected are; Ventura, San Bernardino, San Diego, Orange, Kern, Imperial, Los Angeles, and our own, Riverside County. Seismic Warning System’s Chief Seismologist, Gilead Warman said, “They [swarm of Salton Sea earthquakes] could be loading the San Andreas fault in just such a way to encourage, ever so slightly, the start of the larger earthquake there.” Warman says it’s hard to forecast the likelihood of an earthquake. “There is somewhere between a 1/3,000th and 1/100th chance of a magnitude 7 or larger earthquake.” While that is a large window, local fire departments are on alert. “We have fresh drinking water stored outside. Our apparatus bay doors open automatically. We pull out our equipment and we do a windshield survey of our primary response area,” said Battalion Chief Mark Brooks of Riverside County Fire/CAL Fire. As officials continue their safety plans, Riverside County Emergency Services says right now is the time to prepare. “Get an emergency kit that would be sufficient water and food, medical supplies, first aid kit, all of those items ready, now,” said Brooke Federico of Riverside County Emergency Services.