Brawley quakes could go on for days - seismologists

BRAWLEY, Calif. (KABC) -- Brawley, a small farming town east of San Diego, is on edge after hundreds of earthquakes rocked the area over the weekend - and it's not over yet. Seismologists say the shaking could go on for days.

More than 300 earthquakes have been recorded since around 8:30 a.m. Sunday, with the two largest quakes registered at magnitude 5.5 and 5.3. There were at least six tremors in the magnitude 4 range.

"It felt like that was the big one," said Rosa Morales of the magnitude 5.3, which knocked her mobile home off its foundation. "I've lived here in the valley 61 years and I've never felt something like this."

Residents continued to feel jolts into Monday morning. The area was hit with another earthquake in the early hours with a preliminary magnitude of 3.8.

Residents are taking precaution, putting tapes on windows that could shatter, and cleaning up the mess that Sunday's quakes left behind.

"It just started shaking. It was scary," said Larry Roben of Brawley. "It was just strong and powerful."

Images from around town showed shattered storefront windows, and at one apartment building, a big crack was seen in the stucco along the exterior.

About two dozen mobile homes were shaken off of their foundations on Sunday. Those have been red-tagged and its residents have been displaced.

About 2,500 people were without power on Sunday, but officials said power was restored by 3 a.m. Monday.

Eyewitness News viewers said that they felt the quakes all across Southern California, including in Brea, San Diego, Tustin, Indio and Temecula. The shaking was also felt east to Arizona.

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