TIJUANA, Mexico — One of the strongest earthquakes to hit Southern California in decades shook tens of millions of people in two countries and three states Sunday, swaying buildings from Los Angeles to Phoenix to Tijuana. At least two people were killed in Mexico.
The 7.2-magnitude quake struck at 3:40 p.m. PDT, about 38 miles southeast of the border city of Mexicali, Mexico, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It had a shallow depth of 6 miles. Three aftershocks of magnitudes 5.1, 4.5 and 4.3 followed within the hour, and dozens of smaller temblors struck later.
“It sounds like it’s felt by at least 20 million people at this point,” said USGS seismologist Lucy Jones. “Most of Southern California felt this earthquake.”
The quake was felt the hardest in Mexicali, a bustling commerce center along Mexico’s border with California.
Baja California state Civil Protection Director Alfredo Escobedo said a man was killed when his home collapsed just outside of Mexicali. He said the other man was killed when he panicked as the ground shook, ran into the street and was struck by a car.
At least 100 people were injured, most of them hit by falling objects. At least 20 aftershocks were felt in the city, Escobedo said. Power was out in virtually the entire city, and the blackout was expected to last at least 14 hours, he said.
As darkness fell, there were growing reports of damage on the U.S. side of the border in Calexico, a city of about 27,000, but no injuries. The Calexico City Council met and declared a state of emergency.
Law enforcement vehicles guarded downtown streets, where windows were shattered and bricks and plaster had fallen from buildings.
More than 100 miles west of the epicenter in San Diego, there were reports of shattered windows, broken pipes and water main breaks in private buildings, but no reports of injuries, said Fire-Rescue Department spokesman Maurice Luque.
The quake also rattled buildings on the west side of Los Angeles and in the San Fernando Valley, and was felt hundreds of miles away in Phoenix, where residents rarely feel the earth shake.
