SoCal Quake Followed by Quake on Mexican Border
Southlanders Who Felt Quake Say It Was Scary
Updated 10:47 AM PST, Fri, Jan 9, 2009
A moderate earthquake centered in San Bernardino last night was felt over a wide area of Southern California from Ventura County to the Mexico border.
The magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck one mile south of San Bernardino at 7:49 p.m. Thursday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Then at 8:47 p.m., a magnitude 3.3 earthquake, possibly an aftershock, struck in the same area, one mile south of San Bernardino, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
Hours after the quake centered south of San Bernardino, two small earthquakes rumbled along the Mexico border, in Baja California. The U.S. Geological Survey issued preliminary measurements of the 3.3- and a 3.0-magnitude quakes striking a little before 5 a.m. Friday. The quakes were in northern Baja California, near Mexicali, about 125 miles east of San Diego.
On Thursday night, many Southlanders reported a rolling feeling that lasted as long as 10 to 15 seconds. There were reports of minor damage at the Inland Center Mall in San Bernardino.
"We were extremely fortunate, the assessments came back from the engine companies and the different stations as minor damage at best. No major damage was seen or reported," Steven Tracy of the San Bernardino Fire Department told ABC7.
The minimal damage included reports of cracks in concrete or in stucco on homes, according to ABC7.
The temblors were also felt in the San Fernando Valley, Hollywood, Orange County and Riverside.
"We were upstairs, me and my fiancee, and all of a sudden we just felt like a little rumble, and then as it got I guess closer the walls started like rolling in a rolling motion, and it got really loud," Highland resident Tom Rodriguez told KCAL9.
Rodriguez said there were no visible damages to his home.
Another resident, Mary Cutcliffe of Moreno Valley, told the station that she was startled by the sudden shaking.
"I felt a big jerk and picture frames fell from my chimney and my picture frames fell from my table, when I went to the kitchen all my cans fell off," Cutcliffe told KCAL9.
"I got so scared and my dog started barking. I went outside and nobody's out there. I still do (have power), it felt stronger than the last one. I heard like a long shaking, a long jolt," she said.
Personnel at Los Angeles Police Department stations in Hollywood, Van Nuys and North Hollywood reported no immediate injuries, incidents or damages.
(Scroll down to post your experiences, below.)
Links: AP Coverage | USGS Shake Map | (7:49 p.m. Quake Details) | (8:47 p.m. Quake Details) | Recent Quake Coverage
Copyright Associated Press / NBC Los Angeles
First Published: Jan 8, 2009 8:22 PM PST
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