Imperial County reacts to Southern California experiencing 5.2 magnitude earthquake

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - An earthquake rattled some parts of the Desert Southwest after a 5.2 magnitude earthquake was felt in San Diego.

Some locals say they got an alert on their phones seconds before the earthquake hit, but others say they didn't.

"I was kinda surprised by a little rocking and rolling," said Faye Winker, an El Centro resident.

According to the United States Geological Survey, the earthquake was reported in Julian, California a little after 10:00 a.m.

The Imperial County Fire Department says so far, the cities they know felt the quake are El Centro, Calexico, and Brawley.

"I paused what I was doing...I was at work and I kinda looked around and made sure everything was okay and remembered everything we went over in elementary school," Winkler shared.

"It was a little bad one here and we just didn’t know when it was going to stop," said Luzaida Perroni, a Calexico resident.

"I was in my room and I heard the alarm and I looked and it was shaking so I ran," said Martha Gallego, a Heber resident.

Two locals also say their phones alerted them seconds before the earthquake hit.

"The alert went off and five seconds later, the earthquake happened and you can kind of feel it, but it wasn't really big," said Thomas Berry, a Brawley resident.

"After the earthquake settled a little bit, my whole entire office exited the building we work from across the street...or across the street from the park...so we hung out at the park for a few minutes just to see if any of the aftershocks were strong," Winker added.

Other locals recall the 7.2 Easter earthquake which happened back in 2010. They say they were scared it was going to happen all over again.

County Fire says it's best to have an earthquake plan just in case any aftershocks or another quake hits the county.

No injuries or damages have been reported.