Two quakes one second apart on different faults jostle San Diego

SAN DIEGO, California - A pair of small earthquakes occurred one second apart on Monday 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, reported German news agency (dpa).

"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-magnitude temblor that hit at 5:13pm about 8km west-southwest of Tecate, Mexico, and 24km west-southwest of Campo. It was immediately followed by a 3.6 quake about 37km west-southwest of Progreso, Mexico, and 50km 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. - BERNAMA-dpa