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A magnitude-4.6 earthquake rattled areas northwest of Malibu, triggering widespread shaking across Southern California early Friday afternoon.
Epicenter and Aftershocks:
Within the Santa Monica Mountains, the quake occurred just before 2 p.m., approximately 7 miles northwest of Malibu. A series of aftershocks, including magnitudes 3.0 and 2.7, followed within an hour in the same vicinity.
Seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones noted the occurrence of a robust aftershock sequence but stated that the likelihood of a larger seismic event decreases over time.
Impact Across the Region:
Reports of shaking spanned throughout the greater Los Angeles area, with an estimated 12 million people possibly experiencing the quake.
Effects were felt from coastal areas like LA, Orange, and Ventura counties to inland regions like the San Fernando Valley, downtown LA, Riverside, Irvine, and Anaheim. Some weak-to-light shaking was also felt in parts of north San Diego County.
During the quake, Marla Dailey, working at a Thousand Oaks dental office, described it as a significant jolt. While no significant damage was reported, the Los Angeles Fire Department initiated a damage survey as standard protocol following earthquakes of greater magnitude.
Tsunami Alert and Fault Analysis:
The U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center confirmed no tsunami was triggered. The earthquake may have occurred along the Malibu Coast Fault, near Pacific Palisades, Westwood, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica.
Coincidentally, the earthquake occurred on the same date as the deadly magnitude-6.5 1971 San Fernando earthquake, which caused widespread devastation and raised fears of dam collapse in the San Fernando Valley.
Unrelated Seismic Activity:
On the same day, a magnitude-5.7 earthquake struck Hawaii’s Big Island, causing shaking on Oahu, including Honolulu. However, this event was not related to seismic activity in Southern California.
