RIDGECREST – (INT) – Aftershocks from last week’s powerful earthquakes continue unabated, but only a few are being felt.

Some are trending northwesterly into Inyo County and are more shallow in depth with some less than a mile below the surface.

Early Friday, an M4.9 struck near the original epicenter between Ridgecrest and Trona.

Several back-to-back jolts last Wednesday occurred near Coso Junction about 32 miles north-northwest of Ridgecrest along the eastern flank of the Sierra Nevada. They ranged up to M4.5 but caused no reported damage.

Earthquake expert Dr. Lucy Jones said Friday the relative number of large magnitude quakes is constant, and more M5s in the sequence would be normal. Friday's M4.9 is normal and it’s having its own aftershocks.

Seismologists said earlier that aftershocks could last for years. They should not be as strong as the main M7.1 shock on July 5th.

Several faults are known to exist in the area where the North American and Pacific tectonic plates collide.

Story Date: July 15, 2019