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An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.7 rattled Southern California residents on Thursday morning.
It struck at around 7:28 a.m. PT, and was nearly seven miles deep.
The tremor was located just over four miles north of the coastal city of Malibu, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The agency said that the state’s ShakeAlert system had been activated in response to the event.
The ShakeAlert system, which notified residents of the tremor on their cell phones, had initially estimated the earthquake at above magnitude 5.
Some aftershocks were reported, including a 2.8 magnitude earthquake that was centered nearby. More than an hour later, a 3.4 shook a little farther away from the city, followed by another 2.8 and 2.7. The last quakes hit a bit closer.
Several people reported that they felt the quake in the Inland Empire, Orange County, and along the coast, according to KTLA.
Social media users took to X to report that they had felt shaking, and were woken up just before their alarms went off. Others posted photos of plants that had fallen over.
A livestream from a camera on the Santa Monica beach visibly shook.
The National Weather Service’s Los Angeles office said that no tsunami was expected from the quake.
There was no damage reported to any Malibu schools, according to the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said it had surveyed Los Angeles by land, air, and sea, and found no significant instrastructure or structure damage. No injuries have been noted.
The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services said it was actively monitoring impacts.
Every year, California experiences approximately 500 earthquakes that are large enough to be detected and felt by local residents.
This is a breaking news story. More updates to follow.
