Seismo-Watch, Special Earthquake Report, Lake Henshaw M3.8 earthquake, Maech 30, 2002

Special Reports

Regional Location:

Preliminary Magnitude:

Greenwich Mean Date:
Greenwich Mean Time:
Latitude:
Longitude:
Focal Depth:

LAKE HENSHAW, SO. CALIFORNIA

ML 3.8 (SCSN), Mw 3.6 (SCSN)

02/03/30
13:50:51
33.197N
116.736W
2.1 km (1.3 miles)

Early morning M3.8 quake shakes San Diego County

Seismo-Watch More Special Earthquake Reports

March 30, 2002

An earthquake measuring M3.8 rolled through the Southland early this morning jarring several people from sleep but not causing any damage or injuries.

Seismo-Watch EQ Flash! Alert Bulletins notified subscribers of this earthquake within minutes after it happened. You should subscribe to the service too! It's FREE and Fast! NOW! Wireless EQ Flash! via pager, cell phone or PDA's! More info.

According to the Southern California Seismic Network (SCSN) the earthquake measured a Local magnitude (ML) of 3.8 and a Moment magnitude (Mw) of 3.6 occurred at 13:51 GMT or 5:51 a.m. PST, March 30, about 37 miles east of Oceanside, 11 miles northwest of Julian, and 2 miles northeast of Mesa Grande at Angle Mountain south of Lake Henshaw. See a Topozone topographic map or a MapQuest street map.

The focal depth was at 2.1 km (1.7 miles), a typical depth for earthquakes here. The preliminary TriNet fault plane solution indicated strike-slip motion along a northwest-southeast trending plane. See KNBC4-TV Seismo-Cam or waveforms data.

The earthquake was center along the Julian segment of the Elsinore fault zone. It was the strongest earthquake in San Diego County since the Borrego Springs M4.2 earthquake on January 3.

Felt Reports
The quake was widely felt in San Diego County and felt as far away as the San Bernardino Mountains and the Los Angeles basin. It jarred several people from sleep, causing windows to jiggle and glassware to rattle, but was not strong enough to topple items from tables or shelves.

Some people reported hearing the ground groan while others said the quake sounded like a fright train without the squealing wheels.

Some noticed an initial jolt then a brief shudder of the ground. Reports from the Mesa Granda area said they felt a quick, high intensity ground shudder and then it was gone.

Most people rolled over and went back to sleep.

Aftershocks
The quake was followed by a few small aftershocks the largest of which measured M2.5.

Additional seismic information links:

Mainstream media news reports:

Moderate quake shakes southern California - AP via CNN
Quake Shakes Calif. Reservation - AP via The Guardian, UK



Report update: 10:11:45 PM, Saturday, March 30, 2002