Recent earthquakes serve as reminder to stay prepared

Imperial County reminded to stay prepared for Earthquakes - News 11's Wiley Jawhary reports

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - A swarm of earthquakes hit the Salton Sea area over the weekend with the largest having a magnitude of 5.3 according to the United States Geological Survey. The shaking could be felt throughout the Imperial Valley.

Residents are still shaken up throughout the valley, after a 5.3 magnitude earthquake hit Calipatria over the weekend at about 10:55 Saturday morning. The shaking was felt by many across the valley including El Centro Fire Battalion Chief Cedric Ceseña.

"As members of the public we can do a lot of things to help us feel prepared," he said.

Ceseña says it's important to have an emergency kit at home and ready to go. The kit should be able to serve a family for 72 hours and it should include essentials such as food, medicine, water, and first aid supplies.

"The best place to seek cover is under a sturdy desk or table, just to make sure that there is something over your head in case a structure were to collapse or something were to fall, you have protection, if you are not near a desk, make sure you stay away from windows," he said.

Cesena adds if you are not near a desk, you should make sure to stay as far away as possible from windows in case the glass shatters.

Dr. Lucy Jones is a seismologist who has been studying earthquakes all her life. In a twitter post, she mentions that earthquakes that happen in the Valley are more likely to come in swarms.

Quakes in the Imperial Valley often come in swarms. Which continue until they stop. What we know about swarms is in this podcast. https://t.co/JaAGw80u64 https://t.co/uu8EKEM2sD

— Dr. Lucy Jones (@DrLucyJones) June 5, 2021

Glenn Freire is an Imperial Valley resident, he says the shaking was pretty mild, however he also urges everyone to stay prepared.

“We need to be ready with flashlights and emergency contacts you never know when it is going to happen and you never want to be caught of guard,” he said.

One thing residents tell me is that the worst part of an earthquake is not knowing when it's going to happen, they add that it's important that we all do our parts to be ready for when the next one hits.