Slideshow: 7.2 quake strikes Baja CaliforniaArticle: USGS: Northern CA temblor unrelated to Baja quakeArticle: Earthquake recorded outside of Santa Rosa Article: Baja California earthquake felt in Arizona A list of the biggest quakes in recent California history, measured by magnitude:7.3, Landers, Calif., June 28, 1992, three deaths7.2, Cape Mendocino, Calif., April 25, 19927.2 (estimate), Southeast of Mexicali, Mexico, April 4, 20107.2, Off coast of Northern California, June 14, 20057.1, Hector Mine, Calif., Oct. 16, 19997.0, Honeydew, Calif., Aug. 17, 19917.0, Cape Mendocino, Calif., Sept. 1, 19946.9, Loma Prieta, Calif., Oct. 18, 1989, 63 deaths6.7, Northridge, Calif., Jan. 17, 1994, 60 deaths6.6, San Simeon, Calif., Dec. 22, 2003, 2 deaths6.6, Off coast of Northern California, June 16, 20056.5, Off coast near Eureka, Jan. 9, 20106.2, Joshua Tree, Calif., April 23, 19926.0, Central California, Sept. 28, 20045.9, Humboldt County, Feb. 4, 20105.6, Sierra Madre, Calif., June 28, 1991, two deaths5.6, San Francisco Bay Area, Calif., Oct. 30, 2007___Source: U.S. Geological Survey
LOS ANGELES – A powerful earthquake in Baja California rocked the U.S.-Mexico border region Sunday, collapsing a parking structure south of the border and causing power outages in both countries as it sent out seismic waves felt from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and Arizona.
The 7.2-magnitude quake struck at 3:40 p.m. about 19 miles southeast of Mexicali, a bustling commerce center on the Mexican side of the border where trucks carrying goods cross into California. More than 900,000 people live in the greater Mexicali area.
It was the largest earthquake in the region in nearly 18 years and was followed by aftershocks or distant “triggered” earthquakes on both sides of the border, said U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones.
A multistory parking structure collapsed at the Mexicali city hall but no one was injured, said Baja California state Civil Protection Director Alfredo Escobedo.