4.7 quake near LAX is felt across wide area

A 5.0 earthquake struck southeast of Los Angeles International Airport this evening, causing significant shaking across Southern California. [Update: Quake was downgraded to 4.7.]

The temblor hit about 8:30 p.m. a mile from the South Bay community of Lennox. 

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, but authorities said they were receiving numerous calls about the temblor.

A 3.0 aftershock occurred a few minutes later near Lennox.

Check out the USGS quake map.

Update at 8:58 p.m.: The temblor started about 8.4 miles below the surface, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Residents in the Lennox area said china fell off shelves, but there were no reports of more serious damage. The Los Angeles Fire Department is on "emergency quake mode" as a precaution.

It's unclear what fault the quake struck on. The Newport-Inglewood fault, which has produced several powerful temblors, runs through that general area.

Updated at 9:10 p.m.: An initial assessment by the Los Angeles Fire Department found "no major structural damage, no serious injuries," according to spokesman Brian Humphrey's Twitter feed. 

Updated at 9:20 p.m.: At the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lennox station, deputies said the shaking was brief but intense. "It was pretty strong but over in about 10 seconds," said Lt. Kent Wegener. "There are no [immediate] reports of damage. At this point, we are checking all the critical facilities and getting our ducks in a row." 

Los Angeles County Fire officials also said they had not received damage reports in residential or industrial areas, including the coastal refineries.

Update at 9:35 p.m.:KCAL interviewed moviegoers at a shopping mall in Redondo Beach who said the quake shook the screen and caused some ceiling tiles to fall. But firefighters said there was no serious damage or injuries. KCAL also reported numerous burglar alarms going off and some people cutting themselves on glass.

Updated at 9:50 p.m.: In Hawthorne, firefighters were called to Chadron Avenue, near Crenshaw Boulevard, where a light pole was damaged during the earthquake. One man also suffered a heart attack, but it was unclear whether that was connected. “Luckily, nothing major so far,” said Hawthorne Police Lt. Michael Ishii.

The earthquake was “a bit deep,” said U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Susan Hough – originating 8.4 miles below the surface. “That tends to make it less sharp – less of a jerky, abrupt motion,” Hough said. As a result, most of the region felt the quake largely as a rolling motion, though some closer to the center felt more of a jolt.

Lucy Jones, seismologist at the U.S. Geological Survey, said  the earthquake appears to be consistent with a rupture on the Newport-Inglewood fault. (She said the quake was too small to break the surface, so they can't definitively identify faults.) Jones said this fault isn't typically thought to be capable of producing a major quake like the San Andreas fault. But it was responsible for the 1933 Long Beach earthquake, which measured about 6.3 in magnitude. The Long Beach quake was about as big as seismologists expect from this fault, she said.

"There have been numerous magnitude 3s on it over the years, a cluster of them in the 1980s," she said. "In general, it's an active area."

The quake was initially logged as a magnitude 5 by automatic sensors, but as more data came in, seismologists downgraded it to a magnitude 4.7. It also had an aftershock with a magnitude 3.1 about six minutes later. So far, Jones said, 12,000 people have reported feeling the shaking, including some people in San Diego. She was not surprised at the number of people reporting because the quake shook a pretty densely populated area.

Nothing about the quake or its aftershocks looked unusual, she said. "It’s a real garden variety California earthquake so far."

 What’s notable about it is location with respect to people.

She said the most similar earthquake to this one was a temblor that shook the Inglewood area in 1920, and that one was classified as a "minor damaging shock."

--Shelby Grad, Scott Gold, Jia-Rui Chong and Andrew Blankstein

Photo: Employees of a Starbucks at Hawthorne and Artesia Boulevards clean up broken glass that shattered on the floor and reportedly injured one person who was taken to a nearby hospital. (Jay Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Comments

[Thomas]

Scared the crap out of me here in Marina del Rey. Stuff fell off the shelves. Went on for much longer than the usual.

[Jim Kuhn]

Felt earthqquake at 2047 pm in Chula Vista, CA.

[sara]

in cypress there are reported injuries

[Sully B]

Felt the 5.0 down here in San Diego County. Good tumbler, haven't felt a good one like that in years. :)

[Sky]

Felt a double pulse in Playa Del Rey!

[will]

i live in costa mesa, shook us good here.
my kid lives near oceanside (bonsall)and he had things fall of the shelves

[js.s]

rocking in venice tonight.

[Feliz]

I felt this one real good. I ran to the other room and grabbed my beer bottle collection. It's all good.

[Steve Marks]

It was a little bit scary... I could hear the walls of the house house creaking and shaking. Grabbed my newborn son and ran outside.

[jeffC]

woah my television set fell :(

[Sonni]

Felt it here in Van Nuys. Then I felt the 2nd one just a little bit later. Hard sharp jolt with swaying of the apt bldg and the 2nd one just caused swaying.

[lou kaplan]

We felt it in san diego. felt like a lot of side to side movement.

[tpn1997]

i just moved here from new york. my first quake...i'm freaking out. how do you Californian's do it?!

[Jason]

Felt it here in San Gabriel, CA, but no damage and nothing fell.

[Kay]

the bathroom tub did a slight wave in Burbank

[Alfie]

Felt it here in Fountain Valley, pretty good shake.

[Jane]

Felt it here in Carson, and it was pretty strong but very short. Started off small and grew.

[RMRamos]

Felt the earthquake in Glassell Park...heard it first...a low rumble gradually building then slight earth movement, light house trembling and a little nerve rrrrattling.

[otherlisa]

I felt it in Venice but it didn't seem as big as a 5.0 to me. A lot of rumbling. My cat didn't even wake up. So much for animal intuition!

[Feliz]

Steve: you should never run outside during an earthquake. Now that you have a newborn you really should research what to do during a quake.

[slytle]

downtown San Diego on 12th floor shook for about 7 seconds.

[Tannim]

It was actually east of LAX and north of Hawthorne Airport. The first aftershock was 2.5, also east of LAX but west of the first one, and the second aftershock was 3.1 on Douglas, just north of El Segundo Blvd. at LAFB, but south of LAX.

And we felt the first one over in Riverside.

[Paul]

Here in East Hollywood I barely felt a thing. Hardly even noticed it.

[John]

Here in Westwood we had a solid 5 seconds of shaking.

[Emily]

Felt both the quake and the aftershock in Santa Monica. No damage, just a little shaking. It was kind of fun, actually.

[Lisa]

Shaking in Westwood, but nothing fell.

[Joe]

here in hawthorne, the first jolt felt like a train hit the house

[ValleyVillageResident]

Felt the earthquake in Valley Village, CA

[Kathy Holland]

Felt it in Northridge/Porter Ranch, just north of the CSU Northridge campus.

[Brian Leake]

That was pretty harsh here in Culver City (nr. Robertson). Whole room shaking and building creaking. That was the strongest I've felt for a while.

[pamela]

Felt it over here in Calabasas...nothing fell off of shelves but heard things vibrating.

[Lynda Karr]

It was very strong here in Playa Del Rey. There was a big jolt and then about 15 seconds of solid shaking. An aftershock hit about 10 minutes later.

[brian]

in palm springs on vacation and felt one of them.

[kh]

Felt it good in Cerritos (90703) but no damage at all.

[James]

Felt it shake and it went on longer than normal. Was about to drop, cover and hold when the shaking stopped. No damage.

[Anonymous]

Short, not too bad in Irvine.
One shoebox on the third floor stacked on the top of other boxes moved about 2 inches, that was it.

[Drew]

Felt it in Eagle Rock/Glassell Park - but just barely.

[K]

I don't know where the other people are in San Diego but up in North San Diego county we did not feel a thing. I hope everyone is doing well in Los Angeles County though!

[Mochi]

Hmm, definitely felt it here in Central LA. Dropped a couple of books off my shelf, but nothing too serious.

[Jenna]

That one was scary! Had to go in the other room to make sure my brother and niece were okay. Writing from Baldwin Hills (near Culver City)

[Amy]

First earthquake... definitely scared me...here outside of Culver City.

[Nice shake in La JollaCJ]

Nice shake in La Jolla

[Alexis Coleman]

Was sleep. My husband awoke me. Defintely felt it. First earthquake I have ever experienced. Kinda of scary.

[Judi]

Quite a shaker in San Juan Capistrano. Labrador started barking her head off before shaking started.

[Huy]

felt this one here in La Jolla, San Diego

[Vic Arpeggio]

Felt it bad in Playa del Rey-- WHILE I WAS IN THE SHOWER. That was incredibly freaky. Plus, as an added treat, I still had shampoo in my hair and had to finish through the aftershock. Fortunately, nothing fell off my shelves.

[MEF]

Felt it even here in Riverside! Surprisingly strong!

[Jenni]

i felt it in malibu, little jolts just for a few seconds

[Mike]

Pasadena was shaking

[Foxy L.A. Lady]

Marina del Rey, didn't feel much at all. I was in an elevator and thought it was shaking a little, but barely noticeable. When my friend called and said there was a quake I was surprised.

[AB]

I felt it in the Hills on Beachwood Drive in Hollywoodland.
Shook my windows for a good 10-15 seconds. I just moved here from the East Coast and not liking that too much! I'm from Boston so to me it felt like a subway passing underneath...

[jsk]

felt some shaking and a nice jolt in brentwood, north of wilshire.

[Jose in SD]

Yup, felt it strong here in San Diego. Lasted about 7 seconds. A good roller.

[J dillon]

Felt it here in Carlsbad. Nothing fell or moved. Hope all is well up North.

[Bob]

Earthquake rolled Dana Point - no Tsunamis' yet ;-)

[Lahhal]

I was in the bathroom and felt the quake in Garden Grove

[Trixie]

Huntington Beach - felt it BIG!

[David]

Moved here from Ohio in January...that was my first quake. Definitely a new experience. Have a friend visiting from Ohio this weekend and he's freakin' out.

[john grimes]

Felt in San Diego, Mission Valley Area.

[Mitchell]

Rocked apt in Mar Vista for a few seconds, no damage. My stomach is still jumpy!

[southbay resident]

Wasnt as bad as the 1994 quake.

[Jonathan]

Pretty solid rocking here in Redondo Beach. First a soft sway then a hard bang. House made some pretty loud noises, a few glasses shook around the shelves, haven't found anything broken though.

[Paul]

Felt it in Temecula @ 8:41 PM

[Pete Viles]

my house in mar vista shook for a good 10 seconds. no damage, but certainly got my adrenalin flowing.

[Dave]

Damn, with all the journalists being cut I guess no one is editing anymore. How about editing this piece guys? I know there's probably only 5 reporters now, but come on.

[Rob]

I felt the quake in West L.A. It didn't feel particularly intense. It did go on longer than the other quakes I've experienced. I didn't feel the aftershock.

[Leslie G.]

We felt it for about 5 seconds in Studio City, then again for about 2 seconds. This was my first quake, and surprisingly it didn't scare me.

[Sue]

Really shook down here in Del Mar. Hard to believe it was just a 5.0.

[Meegs]

Felt like a truck hit our building. We are only a few miles from the epicenter in Hermosa Beach. It was short but strong.

[Derick]

Apartment was shaken for couple seconds in Palms,it was scary.

[westwood]

We felt it here in Westwood Village at UCLA.

Will someone please correct the poorly written news update? The people in the ivory tower here would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

-UCLA

[Stan]

I felt the quake all the way down here in central San Diego near the Zoo! I immediately went to usgs.gov and saw the big red square as a 5.0. I have yet to see anything on TV, even CNN. I'm wondering why no coverage yet?

[Silvestre]

DOWNEY - Felt some slight, low rumbling... like an approaching train (I live near railroad tracks) and then a loud shake.

[C Kent]

I got a hamstring cramp running to the door jamb. It was painful.

[Judi]

Felt VERY STRONG here in Santa Monica, rolled what felt like a long time.

[js]

shook pretty good for about 5 seconds down here in San Clemente

[josue]

it shook us real good. we were enjoying a good movie then blahhhhh... waves!!!!!!!! RUNNNNN!!! thank god us in norwalk we're ok!

[David]

Felt it in Irvine for about 10 seconds. Pretty intense shaking and had my heart racing!!!!!!!

[Frances Cortez]

I felt it pretty strong and I live in Oceanside (North San Diego County)

[Paul]

Cerritos - felt whole house shake glad had my cabinets and television sets strap down to the wall. My swimming pool water was moving it too.

[Renee and Doug]

We felt the very strong shaking, which was quite frightening to us since we are new residents. We've been living in Northridge for 6 months and have felt minor tremors, but this one was way different. I was actually online and my montior was shaking and I felt a rumbling under my chair. Just happy it is over.

[a campain]

long shaking, rocking motion in Sherman Oaks; nothing fell

[Dennis]

Felt it in San Diego. A mild rolling for a few seconds.

[Ben]

Felt it in Chula Vista, CA (South East San Diego)

[Mike Jones]

Felt it just outside of downtown San Diego

[Mark]

Small shake in Woodland Hills. Nothing broken.

[WD]

Tremblin in South Park area of San Diego for sure

[Enrique S]

Felt it here in Downey for about 2-5 seconds it seemed. Everyone in my neighborhood seemed fine.

[Erin]

We definitely felt it in the Miracle Mile area-- pretty strong. No damage at all. It scared us, but our baby, asleep in his crib, didn't even wake up.

[Kelly Cotter]

My aunt is visiting from Michigan and she wants to go home! Ha My dog peed on the dining room floor. I took a drink of my Bud Light Lime! :) All is good in Ladera Ranch....chill out Auntie...have another beer.

[Joe]

felt it in San Diego for a moment. Hope everyone is ok closer to the epicenter.

 

[Sam]

Felt it in Disneyland Grand Californian pretty hard

[Xin]

Felt the quake in Venice. This is the first time in my life and it scared me. I don't now where I should sleep tonight.

[Baishali]

All of our family members were busy watching a movie at home, when we suddenly found the floor below us moving at an awkward speed. It lasted for about 40 seconds but in good force. No damages or injuries.

[Mike]

Good jolt to begin and another 15 secs of shaking in Mar Vista. It didn't feel like a 5.0 though.

[Jill]

In Irvine we felt a strong jolt. It scared my kids who were almost asleep.

[Ross]

It was a little scary in Irvine. Seemed like maybe 10 seconds. Nothing damaged in the large university bldg. I was in.

[Jim]

We are at west LA= can felt it

[Danielle]

Oh yeah it was a real shake, rattle and roll, in Redondo Beach

[Nancy]

Felt both quakes in La Crescenta on the second floor of our house; my husband was on the first floor and didn't notice anything.