— Mojave Desert Searles Valley, CA
UPDATE 7:00 PM PST 7/4/19
Kern County Fire Chief David Witt said emergency responders were also contending with small vegetation fires, gas leaks and reports of cracked roadways in Ridgecrest, population 28,000.
Fifteen patients were evacuated from Ridgecrest Regional Hospital as a precaution amid a slew of aftershocks, nine of which were measured at magnitude 4.0 or above. Many of the patients were transported to Antelope Valley.
Mayor Peggy Breeden and Gov. Gavin Newsom each declared a state of emergency in the city.
In many stores and businesses in Ridgecrest, several items fell to the ground, causing a big mess full of broken glass and other materials.
"The first thing that we felt was this dramatic shaking. All we could think was, 'protect the children," one resident said.
At a Walmart in Ridgecrest, the store was giving out water and Gatorade to people who were stuck in the summer heat and were without power at their homes.
Seismologist Dr. Lucy jones said a magnitude 4.2 foreshock occurred about 30 minutes before the larger quake, adding that the area near the epicenter experienced "lots" of 5.0 magnitude quakes in the 1980s.
updates provided by Southern California United States Geological Survey and ABC 7 Glendale - Los Angele, California
Original Post
An earthquake with an early measure of magnitude 6.4 hit Southern California, about 150 miles from Los Angeles in the Mojave Desert's Searles Valley, the U.S. Geological Survey said., on Thursday morning, according to the US Geological Survey.
At least four large aftershocks have been recorded, measuring 4.7, 3.5, 3.8 and 4.2 magnitude, officials said.
It was felt in central Los Angeles as a long, rolling quake, making buildings rock back and forth for at least several seconds.
Diane Ruggiero, general manager of the Hampton Inn and Suites Ridgecrest in Ridgecrest, told media outlets that the hotel has significant damage. People throughout Southern California reported feeling the powerful quake, whose epicenter was located about 62 miles north-northwest of Barstow.
DEVELOPING: More details will be added to this report as they become availabl
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