VIDEO: Man records terrifying moment 7.1 magnitude earthquake hits Ridgecrest

KGO logo
Saturday, July 6, 2019
VIDEO: Man records 7.1 earthquake hitting Ridgecrest
Robb Campbell was inside a Marshall's when the latest big quake hit: "Forget yesterday's 6.4 earthquake, today's 7.1 really brought the house down!"

RIDGECREST, Calif. -- A man hiking the Pacific Crest Trail through California captured the terrifying moments that a second stronger quake struck the small town of Ridgecrest, California.

Robb Campbell of Atlanta was staying at a hotel in Ridgecrest recovering when the first quake hit.

Figuring the worst was over, he decided to spend one more night in Ridgecrest on Friday before starting his hike again, when the second stronger quake hit.

"Seeing the havoc these things wreck on the general public was horrific," Campbell wrote to ABC News.

This time he was ready and started rolling on his phone as the 7.1 quake hit while he was shopping inside a Marshalls.

In the video, you can hear glass shattering, clothing racks rattling, and dozens of items falling to the ground as the quake rocks Ridgecrest.

A few seconds into the video the fire alarms for the building start sounding and the lights go out leaving the whole store in darkness, but the shaking keeps going.

Campbell said that kids and adults were running for their lives when the quake hit and that he did see several people get hurt by the quake.

"Everything is down and sirens have been going nonstop for hours," Campbell wrote in an Instagram message. "Still no electricity and fire engines are everywhere."

He explained that since the quake hit they have still been getting aftershocks about every 5 minutes.

While the quake was terrifying Campbell said that how people responded was amazing.

"Everyone pulled together and looked after the welfare of complete strangers... Strangers offering water to others, people sincerely asking complete strangers if they needed help and offering support if they did," Campbell recalled. "Really restored my faith in humanity seeing the genuine altruism and compassion."

Copyright © 2024 KGO-TV. All Rights Reserved.