A 3.3 magnitude earthquake struck 13 kilometers north of Tecate on April 6 at 2:06 p.m. local time, sending light shaking across the Tijuana corridor. No injuries or structural damage were reported.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recorded the quake slightly higher at magnitude 3.5, with a focal depth of approximately 24 kilometers (15 miles). The epicenter sat roughly 37 kilometers east of Chula Vista on the U.S. side of the border. Residents as far north as Escondido, Poway, and Ramona in San Diego County reported feeling weak to light shaking.
According to the USGS “Did You Feel It?” system, 59 people submitted reports of the quake. Most described the shaking as weak to light. Residents of San Diego, Spring Valley, and Santee also logged responses through the agency’s online form.
Tijuana Civil Protection Finds No Damage
Tijuana’s Civil Protection agency dispatched teams to inspect structures across the city after the shaking was felt. Inspectors found no damage and classified the movement as low intensity. Authorities urged residents to review basic earthquake preparedness steps, including identifying safe zones in their homes and workplaces.
The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) recorded the same event at magnitude 3.1, while the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) matched the USGS reading at 3.5. Slight differences between agencies are normal and depend on station networks and calculation methods.
An Active Seismic Zone
The Tecate area averages about 57 earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or higher per year. Within a 100-kilometer radius of the April 6 epicenter, seismologists have recorded roughly 6,500 quakes annually over the past 56 years. The region has experienced at least two quakes above magnitude 7.0 since 1900, though events of that size occur only about every 60 to 65 years on average.
A magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded near Lake Henshaw, about 50 kilometers to the north, during the week before the April 6 event. Baja California’s strongest recorded earthquake, a magnitude 7.3, struck on June 28, 1992, with its epicenter roughly 196 kilometers north-northeast of Tijuana.
This story was first reported by Jornada BC.