Brawley earthquakes felt in Yuma

Former Yuman Bibi Jaime was relaxing in his Brawley, Calif., home Sunday when the earth shook, slamming his big-screen television to the "ground like a toy."

The moderate earthquake was also felt in Yuma. Several residents posted their experiences on the Yuma Sun Facebook page.

Christina Urquidez Figueroa felt the couch shake. "My two pit bulls and two Chihuahuas were barking (and) acting crazy."

"I thought I was imagining it," Debbie Brewer Escamilla said. "Sitting in my chair, felt like it was swaying side to side, lightly."

Cristal Rodriguez was playing with her son when her mom yelled, "Earthquake!"

"I didn’t feel it but (the) blinds were shaking," she noted.

The U.S. Geological Survey recorded one of the biggest tremors at 1:58 p.m. It had a magnitude of 5.5 on the Richter scale and hit two miles south-southwest of Brawley and 11 miles north of El Centro. It originated 5.5 miles below the surface of the ground.

An earlier quake of magnitude 5.3 struck at 12:31 p.m. three miles northwest of Brawley and 16 miles north of El Centro. It had a depth of 5.8 miles, according to the USGS.

The earthquake was preceded and followed by several smaller tremors between 2.5 and 4.9 magnitude. The USGS reported the first tremor of 2.5 magnitude at 8:33 a.m., about two miles north of Brawley and 15 miles north of El Centro.

On Sunday a magnitude 2.6 tremor was felt at 4:36 p.m. in San Luis Rio Colorado, Son.

Mara Knaub can be reached at mknaub@yumasun.com or 539-6856. Find her on Facebook at Facebook.com/YSMaraKnaub or on Twitter at @YSMaraKnaub.