[5] It was the strongest recorded earthquake in the Imperial Valley, causing widespread damage to irrigation systems and killing nine people.

[10][11] The event caused significant damage in the towns of Brawley, Imperial, El Centro, Calexico and Mexicali and was responsible for nine fatalities.

With ninety percent of the damage done to the canals south of the international border, water rationing became necessary in Brawley and Imperial during the days following the earthquake spanning the restoration period.

The canals brought water from the Mexican side of the border to the United States and supplied 3000 miles of irrigation waterways and ditches in the Imperial Valley.

The primary trunkline was the Alamo Canal and it sustained nine breaks, each several hundred feet in length, along a twenty-mile stretch between Sharp's heading and Cudahy check.

[18] A surface rupture was formed during the earthquake of 40–60 km (25–37 mi),[4] with a maximum recorded displacement of 4.5 m (15 ft) close to the border.

[19] Soon after the earthquake, reconstruction efforts were concentrated on repairing the Alamo and Solfatara irrigation canals to save the cantaloupe crop, and the water supply was restored in less than four days.