LOS ANGELES — A 5.1 earthquake centered at La Habra near Los Angeles rolled Southern California Friday evening.
The
strong earthquake was felt widely across the region shortly after 9
p.m. PT. The USGS said the epicenter was one mile from Brea, located
about 20 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, and three miles from Rowland Heights and Fullerton.
Southern California Edison reported power outages to nearly 2,000 customers following the quake.
The quake triggered a rockslide that closed Carbon Canyon Road in northern Orange County
near the center of the quake, the California Highway Patrol and Brea
police reported. The rockslide caused a car to overturn, and the people
inside the car sustained minor injuries.
Up to 50 people have been displaced due to housing damage, the Orange County Register reported.
Seven water leaks, including a broken water main in Fullerton, not far from the center of the quake, were attributed to the temblor, the Register reported. Other minor structural damage was reported in Brea, La Habra and Buena Park.
The quake was felt as far south as San Diego and as far north as Ventura County, according to citizen responses collected online by the U.S. Geological Survey.
More than two dozen aftershocksrattled the region. The 5.1 quake was preceded by a 3.6 quake an hour earlier.
Police and fire officials said they were looking for any damage.
Several people who live in the area near the quake posted pictures on
social media showing broken glasses and dishes that tumbled from shelves
or cabinets.
Tom Connolly, a Boeing employee who lives in La
Mirada, the next town over from La Habra, said the magnitude-5.1 quake
lasted about 30 seconds.
"We felt a really good jolt. It was a
long rumble and it just didn't feel like it would end," he told The
Associated Press by phone. "Right in the beginning it shook really hard,
so it was a little unnerving. People got quiet and started bracing
themselves by holding on to each other. It was a little scary."
Hall
of Fame announcer Vin Scully was on the air calling the Angels-Dodgers
exhibition game in the sixth inning at Dodger Stadium.
"A little
tremor here in the ballpark. I'm not sure if the folks felt it, but we
certainly felt it here in press box row," Scully said. "A tremor and
only that, thank goodness."Los Angeles Department of Public Works said it was sending crews to check dams, bridges and other infrastructure for damage.
Callers
to KNX-AM reported seeing a brick wall collapse, water sloshing in a
swimming pool, and wires and trees swaying back and forth.
"Tonight's
earthquake is the second in two weeks, and reminds us to be prepared,"
said L.A. Mayor Garcetti. "The Los Angeles Police and Fire Departments
have conducted an assessment and report no damage in the City."
U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones at CalTech in Pasadena told the Los Angeles Times
that the 5.1 quake has a 5% chance of being a foreshock of an even
larger quake. "There could be even a larger earthquake in the next few
hours or the next few days," she said.
Preliminary data suggest
Friday night's 5.1 magnitude earthquake occurred near the Puente Hills
thrust fault, which stretches from the San Gabriel Valley to downtown
Los Angeles and caused the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake, Jones said.
"It's a place where we've had a lot of earthquakes in the past," she said.
The 5.9 Whittier Narrows quake killed eight people and caused $360 million in damage.
At Disneyland in Anaheim, rides were stopped as a precaution, the L.A. Times reported.
Friday's
quake hit a week after a pre-dawn magnitude-4.4 quake centered in the
San Fernando Valley rattled a swath of Southern California. That jolt
shook buildings and rattled nerves, but did not cause significant
damage.
Southern California has not experienced a damaging
earthquake since the 1994 magnitude-6.7 Northridge quake killed several
dozen people and caused $25 billion in damage.
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