Magnitude 4.2 Earthquake Occurs in Mountain Area Near Los Angeles, USA... Two Events in Five Days

An earthquake measuring magnitude 4.2 occurred in the western mountains near Los Angeles (LA), causing tremors to be felt across almost the entire southern California region.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) on the 5th (local time), the earthquake struck at 10:55 a.m. near Little Creek, San Bernardino County, California, approximately 1 km northwest of the epicenter.

The epicenter was located at 34.27 degrees north latitude and 117.51 degrees west longitude, with a focal depth of 8.8 km.

The earthquake occurred in the San Gabriel Mountains, 72 km east of downtown LA, near the boundary of LA County.

USGS estimated that about 61,000 people in southern California experienced a magnitude 4 "light shaking," while approximately 18,036,000 people felt a magnitude 2 to 3 "weak shaking."

A magnitude 3 tremor is clearly felt by people indoors and causes standing cars to shake slightly, while a magnitude 4 tremor can wake sleeping people, cause windows to visibly shake, and produce sounds resembling cracks in walls.

However, no casualties or injuries have been reported.

The LA Fire Department stated that there have been no reports of injuries or damage to buildings and infrastructure in the city due to this earthquake. The San Bernardino County Fire Department also reported no damage reports or requests for assistance related to the earthquake.

Near LA, a magnitude 4.1 earthquake also occurred four days earlier on New Year's Day. At 8:27 a.m. on January 1, a magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck offshore, 19 km south of Rancho Palos Verdes in southwestern LA County. Although no significant damage or injuries were reported at that time, earthquakes exceeding magnitude 4.0 have occurred repeatedly over the first five days of the new year.

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