Southern California was hit with a magnitude 4.2 earthquake on Friday morning.
While a 4.2 earthquake is small by California standards, residents in Los Angeles, Riverside and Orange County were rattled by the temblor.
Video shows dog startled by Southern California earthquake https://t.co/7JAV9cJGr6 pic.twitter.com/o4YP0Ezk27
— KTLA (@KTLA) January 5, 2024
KTLA reported:
An earthquake measuring 4.2 in magnitude shook the Los Angeles area Friday morning and was felt by potentially millions of people across Southern California.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake struck at 10:55 a.m. Pacific time with an epicenter 5.5 miles underground, just north of Rancho Cucamonga in the San Gabriel Mountains.
The temblor, dubbed the Lytle Creek Earthquake, had a preliminary magnitude of 4.6, was downgraded to 4.1 and eventually the Geological Survey determined it was a 4.2.
The region was struck by a magnitude 4.1 earthquake on New Year’s Day.
Seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones said Friday’s earthquake, which was initially measured at a 4.4 and later downgraded to a 4.2, was along two fault lines.
The M4.4 that just occurred in SoCal is near Lytle Creek in Cajon Pass, where the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults come together. In 1970, there was a M5.2 with a M4.0 foreshock in close to the same location
— Dr. Lucy Jones (@DrLucyJones) January 5, 2024
Meanwhile, Japan rang in the new year with a massive 7.6 earthquake.
The 7.6 earthquake and dozens of aftershocks struck Honshu on Monday.
On Monday Dr. Lucy Jones said the California quake and Japan’s temblor were completely unrelated.
“Completely unrelated to Japan, SoCal just had a M4.1 offshore from Palos Verdes. Not near any known fault. Way too small to even talk about tsunamis. Japan’s M7.5 is 100,000 times bigger than a M4.1,” Dr. Lucy Jones said on X.
No reports of damages or injury related to the California quakes.
