No damage reported as 2 moderate quakes shake parts of Calif.’s San Diego, Imperial counties

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2 moderate quakes strike S. Calif.; no damage

SAN DIEGO — A pair of moderate earthquakes and several smaller ones rattled Southern California’s San Diego and Imperial counties Sunday as a stream of seismic activity continues a month after a major Easter earthquake ravaged the region. There were no reports of new damage or injuries.

A magnitude-5.0 quake struck at 11:33 a.m. Saturday in the U.S.-Mexico border area about 16 miles southwest of El Centro, near the small farm town of Seeley, according to a report from the U.S. Geological Survey.

A magnitude-4.7 quake hit about 15 minutes later in the same area, and many more followed throughout the day, the largest a magnitude-4.1 at 8:33 p.m.

San Diego County sheriff’s Lt. Hank Turner said shaking was felt in downtown San Diego, and the USGS received reports of people far to the north in Riverside County feeling the temblor.

“I sure did feel it,” said Lt. Fritz Reber with the police department in Chula Vista, south of San Diego. “I was in the building, sitting in front of the computer, and it shook a little bit. I could hear the ceiling tiles jiggle.”

Sheriff’s and fire department dispatchers in San Diego and Imperial counties said they received no reports of damage.

Saturday’s quakes were among the biggest aftershocks yet following the magnitude-7.2 quake that struck southeast of Mexicali, Mexico, on April 4, killing two people.

That quake caused an estimated $91 million in damages in California, primarily in Calexico, where some schools and other public buildings in the economically ailing area remained closed more than a month later.

On Friday, President Barack Obama signed a disaster declaration to free federal funding to help the state and local governments with repairs and recovery.

The quake damaged homes, a dozen schools, hospitals, wastewater facilities, roads and a canal that carries Colorado River water to the agricultural region and serves up to 35 percent of the population of Imperial County.