4.2-Magnitude Earthquake Hits Pacoima, Rocks Southland
PACOIMA (CBSLA) -- A 4.2-magnitude earthquake struck the Pacoima area of the San Fernando Valley early Thursday morning and was felt across the Southland. It was followed up by two large aftershocks.
The tremblor hit at 4:29 a.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The epicenter of the earthquake was near Fellows Avenue and Aztec Street, about one mile north of Pacoima.
The earthquake was initially recorded as a 4.5, but later downgraded to a 4.2. It struck at a depth of 4.9 miles.
It was felt as far south as San Diego and as far north as Bakersfield, people reported to the USGS.
"I really thought, like, my son fell off the bed or something," Pacoima resident Robert Legaspi told CBSLA. "So I get up. So, my wife has an app that alerted, but it was a nice shake."
It was followed up nine minutes later, at 4:38 a.m., by a 3.3-magnitude aftershock.
Then, at 6:48 a.m., a 3.8-magnitude earthquake rattled Pacoima again. That epicenter of that quake was at North Huntington and 5th streets.
Renowned seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones called Thursday's temblors of the "garden variety."
The earthquake occurred in the Sierra Madre Fault Zone, said Paul Caruso with the USGS in a virtual briefing.
By late morning, more than 60 aftershocks had been detected, Caltech seismologist Jen Andrews said. Andrews said the temblor is not surprising, given the array of fault zones in the area. She noted that Thursday morning's shaker occurred at the intersection of faults responsible for the 1971 San Fernando earthquake and the 1994 Northridge quake, but there was no way to draw any connection with those events.
There were no reports of injuries or significant damage, the Los Angeles Fire Department reported. LAFD engaged its Earthquake Emergency Mode, with fire engines and helicopters canvassing its 470 square-mile jurisdiction.
Caltrans was also sending crews around the region to ensure that no bridges had been damaged as well.
This appears to be the most strongly felt earthquake in the region since a pair of earthquakes struck the Kern County region of Ridgecrest and Searles Valley in the Mohave Desert on consecutive days in July of 2019.
On the morning of July 4, 2019, the region was hit by a magnitude 6.4 quake, the largest to hit Southern California in 20 years.
However, that turned out to only be a foreshock to the main shock, the magnitude 7.1 earthquake which struck on the night of July 5, ten times larger than the 6.4 quake.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
