Earthquake in Mexico felt as far away as Tucson

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An earthquake initially measured at 5.0 was felt in the Yuma area around 12:25 p.m. Thursday.

The quake originated 20 miles south-southeast of Mexicali, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Reports of the quake were received from as far away as Tucson and Sierra Vista, according to the USGS National Earthquake Information Center in Colorado.

The intensity of Thursday's quake may be downgraded slightly as more information is analyzed, according to Julie Martinez, a geophysicist with the earthquake center.

  Martinez said another swarm of quakes may be under way. She pointed to a spike in earthquake activity in the area south-southeast of Mexicali, a region famous for having numerous small quakes every day.

  "There actually has been a series of quakes going on there, but this last quake is the largest in the group," Martinez said. She pointed out a 2.9 quake and another measuring at 3.4 that happened at that location during the night.

  The last sizable quake felt in the Yuma area was a 4.6 tremor back in September.

  A "swarm" of quakes kept many Yumans' nerves on edge back in February, when a series of quakes rumbled through with intensities ranging from 2.1 to 5.0.