A new 5.2 magnitude earthquake shook Baja California Sur this Thursday April 18th. According to the National Seismological Survey, the tremor surprised the Loreto city, located to the east of said state.
Although the movement was recorded at 9:12 a.m. this day, the agency noted that quake It is not the only one that has been recorded in less than 24 hours, since at least 7 tremors have been recorded in the last 12 hours.
The last recorded earthquakes range between the 4th and 5th degrees and all have been detected in the city of Loreto.
However, since last Tuesday, April 16, the SSN recorded earthquakes on scales ranging from magnitude 3.6 to 4.8, all in the area very close to the well-known and world-famous San Andreas fault.
Even this Wednesday it was reported a seismic swarm of 25 tremors with an epicenter in the Sea of Cortezbetween Loreto, Baja California Sur, and Huatabampo, Sonora.
At the end of January and beginning of February 2024, another seismic swarm of approximately 63 earthquakes with magnitudes from 2.5 to 4.8 was recorded in the same area of the Sea of Cortez.
What is a seismic swarm?
According to him United States Geological Survey (USGS), a seismic swarm is an event in which several earthquakes occur within a specific area in a certain period of time, outside the pattern of isolated earthquakes.
In this regard, the UNAM explains that seismic swarms must be monitored, since they are related to the volcanic activity, whether it is a possible eruption, like what is happening in Iceland, or the probable birth of a new volcano; Both situations can represent risks for the local population.
The expert Leobardo López Pineda, of the Center for Higher Studies of the State of Sonorain their study “Seismic risk in cities in northwest Mexico,” says that the cities that present the highest risk of earthquakes in the area are Mexicali, Baja California, and San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, due to their proximity to the faults of the Gulf of California and the San Andreas Fault.
