[Global Network Comprehensive Report Trainee Reporter Zhang Zeqi] After experiencing two earthquakes, satellite images showed that a huge crack appeared in California.
After the major earthquake on the "Independence Day" in the United States, southern California was once again hit by an earthquake measuring 37.1 on the Richter scale on the evening of the 5th, breaking the state's most serious earthquake record in 20 years.
According to a report by CNN on the 9th, two earthquakes caused changes in the local terrain. Satellite images provided by Planet Labs, a private U.S. earth imaging company, showed that a huge crack appeared in an area near the epicenter of the earthquake in California.
(Satellite image on July 4, source: Planet Laboratory)
CNN noticed that on the 6th, the crack extended partially outward from the previous water storage area. ↓
(Satellite image on July 6, source: Planet Labs)
According to previous reports, at about 8:20 pm on the 5th, an earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale broke out in the desert area of southern California and west of the American casino city of Las Vegas. Compared with the 6.4-magnitude earthquake that occurred on Independence Day, the strong earthquake on the 5th released 10 times the energy of the former. The earthquake was felt to varying degrees as far north as the state capital Sacramento 600 kilometers away, and as far south as Mexico, which borders California. In fact, a total of more than 4,700 earthquakes have occurred in California since the 4th, with an average of one every 30 seconds; however, most of them are minor and difficult to detect. Within an hour after the earthquake on the 5th, three large-scale aftershocks occurred in the local area, all with magnitudes higher than 5.
Affected by this disaster, many buildings in the epicenter area caught fire and collapsed, natural gas pipelines were broken, and thousands of homes were without power. A 10-centimeter-wide crack appeared on National Highway 178 leading to the epicenter, and some sections of the road were urgently blocked by the authorities. Sporadic fires also occurred in Los Angeles, and power supply interruptions occurred in some communities in the city. Affected by the earthquake, Disneyland in Orange County, California, conducted an emergency evacuation of tourists, and an NBA summer league game in Las Vegas was also interrupted. Fortunately, this major earthquake has not caused any major safety accidents so far. Only dozens of injuries have been reported, and most of them are only minor injuries.
(National Highway 178 leading to the epicenter was also deformed due to the earthquake, source: CNN, Twitter)
