Southern California, already bracing for potentially catastrophic flooding from Tropical Storm Hilary, got struck by an earthquake Sunday.
The 5.1 magnitude earthquake happened in Ojai, about 60 miles east of the Los Angeles area, and was felt throughout Southern California. It happened as the area dealt with the effects of the extremely rare tropical storm, which officials worried will bring catastrophic flooding in California and Nevada.
Social media users immediately reacted with the hashtag #hurriquake to describe the bizarre confluence of events and members of the sports world quickly chimed in.
ESPN Los Angeles perfectly summarized the responses from shellshocked SoCal residents.
“Everyone: prepare for #HurricaneHilary
“Earthquake: hold my beer.
“Hope everyone is staying safe out there! #hurriquake.”
NFL on Fox analyst Jay Glazer tweeted, “Damnnn, lost power in our house, bottom of driveway already flooded and now we just had an earthquake here in LA… so of course I’m tweeting bc I got nothing else to do. Stay safe out there gang.”
The hurriquake had already impacted pro sports in the area, with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels both moving their Sunday home games to Saturday to be played as part of doubleheaders.
However, the Los Angeles Chargers did not opt to move their 7:05 p.m. (ET) preseason game with the New Orleans Saints, even after the earthquake struck. It was felt at SoFi Stadium.
Sports fans had plenty of sports-related memes to describe the event.
https://twitter.com/xcallumxo/status/1693383909277372670
So the @chargers are really gonna play during the hurriquake?
— B
(@brodz1178) August 20, 2023
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.