A 4.1-magnitude earthquake lightly shook a wide region of Southern California Friday morning.
The quake was reported at 10:55 a.m. with a preliminary magnitude of 4.6 but was quickly downgraded, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Its epicenter stretched 5.5 miles underground, but above, it was centered north of Rancho Cucamonga in the San Gabriel Mountains.
Though a few miles from the eastern San Bernardino, those in western regions of Los Angeles County also felt its impact, with those downtown feeling it as a slight rocking and others nearer Century City feeling light shakes.
Quakes of this magnitude rarely have the strength to leave significant damage, and there were no immediate reports of any injuries or structural effects.
The Los Angeles Fire Department remains in a normal operating mode. There have been NO reports of injury, structure or infrastructure damage within our @LACity jurisdiction related to the M4.1 #earthquake near #LytleCreek #California at 10:55 AM:https://t.co/82MeWULOhJ
— LAFD 🔥 (@LAFD) January 5, 2024
The area of this quake, near where the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults connect, was close to a 5.2-magnitude earthquake in 1970 that had a 4.0-magnitude foreshock.
This is the second earthquake in the region with a magnitude above 4.0 since Jan. 1, according to the Southern California Earthquake Data Center. The first quake, on New Years' Day, occurred on Los Angeles' southern tip in Rancho Palos Verdes.
Each year, Southern California has about 10,000 earthquakes, though most are too small to be felt, per the U.S. Geological Survey. Only about 15 to 20 are 4.0-magnitude or higher annually.
