4.4-magnitude earthquake strikes near Los Angeles
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The quake hit near the LA neighborhood of Highland Park, north-east of downtown, and was at a depth of 12.1 km.
PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM USGS
LOS ANGELES - Millions across Southern California were rattled on the afternoon of Aug 12 by a 4.4-magnitude earthquake, though there were no reports of significant damage, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
The earthquake hit at 12.20pm and was centred just outside of Pasadena, about 8km north-east of downtown Los Angeles, according to the agency.
“It was a pretty good jolt,” said Dr Susan Hough, a seismologist with the USGS who was on the California Institute of Technology campus in Pasadena when the earthquake struck. “It was clearly a decent shake, though not huge.”
The earthquake, which was followed two minutes later by a 2.1-magnitude aftershock, was felt more than 160km away in Bakersfield, San Diego and Joshua Tree National Park, according to the USGS. The earthquake’s epicentre was in El Sereno, a small neighbourhood in north-east Los Angeles.
Dr Hough said that scientists were not yet sure which fault had produced the earthquake, though it appeared close to the Puente Hills Fault, which runs through the Los Angeles basin into northern Orange County. The fault line, discovered in 1999, can produce devastating earthquakes, scientists say, and was responsible for the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake that killed eight people.
As of mid-afternoon, there had been no initial reports of widespread damage from the quake, said Ms Margaret Stewart, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Fire Department. Firefighters from each of the city’s 106 fire stations were driving through their districts to survey any effects, she said, and would soon be able to provide more detailed assessments.
The California Highway Patrol also said that it had not received any reports of accidents or damage related to the quake.
In Pasadena, the leafy suburb not far from the centre of the quake, students in local schools who were back for their first day of the new year got a real-life “drop, hold and cover” drill, though there were no reports of injuries or damage, said Ms Lisa Derderian, a spokeswoman for the city.
In the Highland Park neighbourhood, thuds and shudders ran through homes, followed by several seconds of powerful and sustained shaking. A few residents gathered on one street, babies and dogs in tow, marvelling at how intense the quake had felt, though no one reported any damage. NYTIMES
