NBC Los Angeles /

News

SoCal Quake Followed by Quake on Mexican Border Southlanders Who Felt Quake Say It Was Scary

Updated 10:47 AM PDT, Fri, Jan 9, 2009

USGS

Quake strikes south of San Bernardino in the Inland Empire, near Los Angeles.

 

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.

I.E. Quake: The Day After

Watch Video

There are still a few jittery nerves in the Inland Empire the day after an earthquake.

Family Startled by Quake (RAW)

Watch Video

Watch home video from the San Bernardino earthquake.

Did You Feel It?

Watch Video

Southland residents who felt the Jan. 9, 2009, quake describe how it felt.

Expert Crunches Quake Stats

Watch Video

Details of the quake centered south of San Bernardino on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009, were explained at a news conference a short time after it struck.

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

Comments (97)

Sort by: Most Recent | Oldest
  • flip Saturday, Jan 10 at 12:26 PM FLAG COMMENT was on the phone with a friend who lives in pomona she felt it first and said you gonna feel it soon a few seconds later i felt it in montebello . it was kind of freaky because i knew it was coming .
  • Hoss Friday, Jan 9 at 11:52 PM FLAG COMMENT February 19th at 5.47 P.M. a 7.8 quake by Cajon. I'm here for the Super Bowl from 2016. San Diego wins it 34-21. You'll hate Biden. You'll get used to him. Jeb Bush is your next president. He's okay. Las Vegas was the big one you thought about. October 3rd 2009. Britney Spears is still the biggest thing around. Casinos in Havana.
  • Victoria Friday, Jan 9 at 1:21 PM FLAG COMMENT CANOGA PARK - Nada a feeling. Didn't even know. The last "big one" a few months ago cured my sensitivity for small EQs I guess. LOL.
  • Leedie Friday, Jan 9 at 10:50 AM FLAG COMMENT I was in bed on 3rd floor of townhouse - watching t.v. -- heard a sound from my left -- even looked that way into the bathroom and it rumbled towards me and then the bed etc shook - hard. But strange how it was so clearly coming 'towards' me. We are 12 blocks 'straight down the block' from the SM Pier...in bed my back would be to the pier. On 1st floor one felt it one did not.
  • Frank Friday, Jan 9 at 9:08 AM FLAG COMMENT I felt it in HUNTINGTON BEACH and got me good!!! WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!!!! I HATE TO SAY THIS.....BUT I DON'T HEAR IT ANYWHERE ELSE NOR SEE BILLBOARDS, WE ARE STILL NOT READY FOR A MAJOR EARTHQUAKE, PHONES WILL NOT WORK FOR HOURS, THERE WILL BE A LOT OF CARNAGE, NO DOUBT ON THE FREEWAYS. SO MANY BRIDGES THAT WILL NOT HOLD IN LA. IT WILL ONLY BE BAD LUCK AND BEING @ THE WRONG PLACE @ THE WRONG TIME. CAN'T LIVE EVERYDAY SCARED ... MORE >

Post a Comment

Name


Comment - You have 2000 characters left

Enter both words below, separated by a space, in the field located to the lower right. Can't read the words below? Try different words or an audio captcha. What's this?