The tremor happened at around 7am local time this morning, less than a mile from East Los Angeles and close to Commerce. The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the earthquake occurred at a depth of 10.7 miles. There have so far been no reports of damage. It was felt from Santa Clarita to Orange County, according to the USGS.
Neighborhood fire stations in LA County are conducting a detailed study of their designated areas, checking transportation infrastructure, apartment buildings and power lines.
The USGS had initially set the magnitude of the earthquake at 3.9 with a depth of 10.6 miles, but then downgrade this slightly to magnitude 3.6 and a depth of 10.7 miles.
There had been thousands responses to the USGS online shaking reports
Californians have flooded social media to describe their shock at being awoken by the earthquake.
Twitter user Sandra Lehner (@s_lehner) wrote: “Woke me up! Bed was shaking.”
Jynx Prado (@JynxPrado) tweeted: “That felt like a 4.5.
“Earthquake woke me up before my alarm clock can.”
Twitter user @Car_la1475 posted: “Earthquakes are becoming more frequent in Los Angeles.”
Pat (@Pat_LosAngeles) commented: “I got a bit of shake this AM.”
Seismologist Dr Lucy Jones wrote on Twitter: “What you feel in a small earthquake like this morning depends on how close you are to it.
“Because it is 10 miles down, everyone is at least 10 miles from it.
“The closer you are, the sharper the motion.”
A magnitude 2.4 earthquake was reported Thursday morning in South Los Angeles, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The earthquake occurred at 6:58 a.m. near Stocker Street in the Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw and View Park-Windsor Hills neighborhoods. The quake occurred at a depth of 4.5 miles.
The greater Los Angeles area is hit by an average of five earthquakes with magnitudes between 3.0 and 4.0, according to a recent three year data sample.
It is also hit be an average of 59 earthquakes with magnitudes between 2.0 and 3.0 every year.
The USGS has said on its website that within the next 30 years, there is a 60 percent chance an earthquake measuring magnitude 6.7 could hit the Los Angeles region.
This falls to 46 percent probability for magnitude 7.0 and 31 percent for magnitude 7.5.
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