PLUMAS COUNTY, Calif. — A moderate earthquake and a large aftershock have rocked Northern California in the last 24 hours.
The first was breaking news on ABC10 News at 5 p.m. Thursday; a magnitude 5.5 quake shook an area centered on Lake Almanor in Plumas County.
The shaking may not be over. Scientists with the USGS are tracking the chances of yet another moderate earthquake hitting within the next week.
According to the USGS, when a big earthquake hits, there’s a chance another will follow.
“[A] 6% chance of a magnitude 5.0 aftershock within the week of the event,” said Robert de Groot with the USGS.
It came true 11 hours later. He says it’s possible another earthquake will hit within the week and Thursday’s earthquake might have been a foreshock for a larger one.
“We do know that both were inside Lake Almanor, but as far as a name of a fault line or a cause… that is still under investigation,” said de Groot.
At the USGS, he focuses on alerting residents with Shake Alert, an earthquake early warning system for the West Coast available through an app.
More than 100,000 people received an alert Thursday and they’re sent based on location and impact.
“Alerts are prioritized for people who could feel potentially like a heavy truck passing by your house or items might be falling off your shelf and breaking,” he said.
USGS says California has 50 earthquakes a day, so think about all the ones you don’t feel. ABC10 checked in with the city of Susanville near the epicenter and the fire chief says there are no known damages at this time.
WATCH MORE: Moderate earthquake rocks Northern California
