LOS ANGELES (AP) — A 4.6-magnitude earthquake struck off the Southern California coast near Malibu on Friday and was widely felt in the Los Angeles area, shaking windows and shelves, but there were no reports of major damage or injuries.
The epicenter was in the rugged Santa Monica Mountains, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) west of Los Angeles. The range rises steeply from the coast, and the houses near the center are scattered along a narrow strip of development along the coast or on ridges and valleys. The US Geological Survey said the quake struck at a depth of about 8 miles (13 kilometers) at 1:47 p.m.
It was felt from Malibu Beach as far north as Bakersfield, as far south as San Diego, and as far east as downtown Los Angeles. Some said they felt the earthquake as a tremor, while others described a jerking motion.
Anthony Valdez, a partner at the Surfing Cowboys store in Malibu, said it shook so long and hard that he wondered if it was going to grow bigger. So he rushed to the street.
“I work at a shop and the surfboards hang from the ceiling, so I'm not going to walk out with a surfboard over my head. I like to run out,” he said.
Earthquake is not associated with A 5.7 magnitude shock It hit Hawaii's Big Island on Friday, seismologist Lucy Jones said.
Jones said the magnitude of the quake was not severe enough to cause damage to be expected.
“It's run-of-the-mill for earthquake country,” Jones said.
According to California's Office of Emergency Services, about 91,000 people have received alerts from the MyShake app.
Elizabeth Ackerman was working from home at her family home in the San Fernando Valley when the earthquake struck.
The communications expert was doing some magazine editing when he felt “a sharp jolt like the vibration of a roller coaster car at the start of the ride,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
She told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that the couch felt like it was moving beneath her, the window blinds shook and her 14-year-old son's birthday banner swayed on the wall. She sat under the dining table as the shaking continued.
At Broad Street Oyster Co. in Malibu, Anthony Benavides said everyone froze for a few seconds when the field started moving.
“It's a good shakeup,” he said. “It wasn't too bad. We were just making sure nothing fell off the shelves.
The US National Tsunami Warning Center reported no tsunami.
Friday is the 53rd anniversary of the 1971 San Fernando earthquake in Southern California, which registered 6.6 on the Richter scale. Also known as the Sylmar earthquake, it killed 64 people and caused $500 million in damage.
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