A crowd listens to an official during an informational town hall for residents following recent earthquakes Sunday, July 7, 2019, in Ridgecrest, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)RIDGECREST, Calif. – Shaken residents are cleaning up from two of the biggest earthquakes to rattle California in decades as scientists warn that both should serve as a wake-up call to be ready when the long-dreaded “Big One” strikes.
California is spending more than $16 million to install thousands of quake-detecting sensors statewide. Officials said the sensors will give utilities and trains precious seconds to shut down before the shaking starts.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said it’s time residents did their part by mapping out emergency escape routes and preparing earthquake kits with food, water, lights and other necessities.
“It is a wake-up call for the rest of the state and other parts of the nation, frankly,” Newsom said at a weekend news conference on efforts to help a desert region jolted by back-to-back quakes.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake Thursday and a magnitude 7.1 quake Friday were centered 11 miles from the small town of Ridgecrest, about 150 miles from Los Angeles.