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Sunday’s 3.6 earthquake sent seismic energy toward Ocotillo Wells. ((Ana Ramirez/The San Diego Union-Tribune))
A pair of small earthquakes occurred one second apart late Sunday on different fault systems south of the US-Mexico border, producing light shaking in areas of San Diego County, according to the US Geological Survey.
“That’s absolutely crazy,” said Tom Rockwell, a seismologist at San Diego State University. “It’s very random that quakes on separate faults happen at about the same time.”
The first quake was a 3.4 temblor that hit at 5:13 p.m. about 5 miles west-southwest of Tecate, Mexico and 15 miles west-southwest of Campo. It was immediately followed by a 3.6 quake about 23 miles west-southwest of Progreso, Mexico, and 31 miles east-southeast of Campo.
There was no immediate indication that shaking on the first quake triggered the second.
Small quakes regularly occur in and around the US-Mexico border but rarely lead to large events, Rockwell said.
This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune.
