California City Declares City Emergency Due to Earthquakes

The earthquake swarm in southeastern California has led the Brawley City Council to declare a local state of emergency as a step toward dealing with damage.

The Imperial Valley Press reports the council took the action during a special meeting Tuesday evening.

The swarm began Sunday and hundreds of quakes followed. The two largest were magnitude-5.5 and 5.3.

City Manager Rosanna Bayon Moore says that private businesses are being asked to provide damage estimates and by week’s end officials should have tallies for both private and public properties.

The summary will be used to seek an emergency declaration from Gov. Jerry Brown.

Brawley is a city of 25,000 residents set among vast farm fields between the U.S.-Mexico border and the Salton Sea.