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Southern California was struck by a “very strong” 5.2-magnitude earthquake on Tuesday evening, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
The epicenter of the quake was about 15 miles southwest of Lamont, Kern County. It struck at around 9.10pm PT, with people in Fresno, Bakersfield, Santa Clarita and as far afield as Los Angeles reportedly feeling its tremors.
A survey initially measured the earthquake at 5.3 on the Richter scale, before it was later downgraded to 5.2. Dozens of aftershocks registering as high as 4.5 magnitude began just 45 seconds after the initial quake.
The shaking at the point closest to the epicenter felt “very strong,” as defined by the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale.
The USGS, which is assessing the impact of the quake, said there is a low likelihood of damages and casualties – neither of which have been reported. There is also “no tsunami danger,” according to the National Weather Service.
Approximately 60 aftershocks were recorded over the following hour, according to the California Institute of Technology seismologist Lucy Jones.
Jones, who is based in Pasadena, noted that “we are seeing a robust aftershock sequence,” she wrote on X late on Tuesday.
The seismologist added that the quake took place near the White Wolf fault in Kern County, where an earthquake registering 7.5 on the Richter scale killed 12 people in 1952. “It does not appear to be on the same fault as that earthquake,” she confirmed.
A large boulder the size of an SUV was reportedly blocking lanes on Interstate 5 near Grapevine Road two minutes after the quake struck, according to the California Highway Patrol.
It is not clear whether the boulder has been removed.
An emergency alert was sent out to many Southern Californians’ mobile phones from the USGS’ ShockAlert early warning system seconds before the shaking began.
“Earthquake Detected! Drop, Cover, Hold On. Protect Yourself. -USGS ShakeAlert,” the notification read.
Los Angeles Fire Department deployed helicopters and sent employees from stations to assess whether any injuries or structural damage had occurred in the city, which is about 88 miles from the epicenter.
In a post on X on Tuesday evening, the city’s mayor Karen Bass confirmed there were “no damages or injuries in the City of Los Angeles.”
LA County Sheriff’s Deputy Jose Gomez said he did not feel any tremors on his drive into work in the neighboring city of Santa Clarita, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Earthquakes with magnitudes between 5.0 and 6.0 occur five times per year across California and Nevada, according to a three-year data sample.
Every year Southern California experiences up to 10,000 earthquakes, with most of them registering low on the Richter scale and causing little to no damage or injuries.
The most recent significant earthquake (above a 6.0 on the Richter scale) in the state was the 6.4 magnitude quake that occurred in Ferndale, Humboldt County, in December 2022, in which two people were killed and 17 injured.
