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California Assesses Damage After Second Major Earthquake

Mike O'Sullivan

   LOS ANGELES - Emergency workers in Ridgecrest, Calif., were assessing
   damage after a second major earthquake of magnitude 7.1 struck the
   desert community northeast of Los Angeles on Friday night.

   It followed a magnitude 6.4 quake near the city on Thursday. No deaths
   or major injuries have been reported from either major temblor, but
   Friday's 7.1 magnitude quake, which was felt throughout Southern
   California and in neighboring Nevada, caused additional damage and left
   residents shaken.

   Again, food flew off the shelves of supermarkets, and thousands of
   dollars' worth of stock was destroyed in a liquor store.

   "This earthquake was longer, but also concluded with a very, very
   strong jolt that felt like it was going to knock the whole place down,"
   said Victor Abdullatif, the owner's son.

   Far bigger jolt

   Seismologists saidthe quakeFriday was 10 times more powerful than
   Thursday's earthquake.

   "The [Friday] quake did last for some time," said Mark Ghilarducci,
   director the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services. "It
   was felt widely throughout most of Southern California and even as far
   north here as Sacramento."