Southern California residents felt the ground shake Sunday night when a 3.5 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Rancho Palos Verdes, the region’s third seismic event to rattle the region in less than a week.
According to the United States Geological Survey, the earthquake struck around 9:40 p.m. in the Pacific Ocean near Catalina Island, 14 miles southwest of Rancho Palos Verdes. The quake struck approximately seven miles beneath the ocean floor and was followed minutes later by a weaker 1.9 magnitude aftershock.
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- 1 No damage or injuries reported despite wide impact
- 2 Third earthquake in week raises questions about activity
- 3 Ohio also experienced small earthquake Sunday
Thousands of residents in Los Angeles and Orange counties reported feeling the shaking, with the USGS getting reports from cities ranging from the Orange County coast near Huntington Beach northward through Long Beach, Inglewood, and into Los Angeles proper. Some neighbors as far east as Fullerton felt the tremor.
No damage or injuries reported despite wide impact
Despite being felt throughout a large area, authorities reported no injuries or structural damage from the earthquake. The offshore location likely lessened the intensity perceived on land, but several coastal dwellers reported perceptible shaking, prompting worry and a flurry of social media posts wondering if others had felt the same.
The USGS has a Did You Feel It system that allows residents to report their earthquake experiences, which helps scientists better understand how earthquakes affect different places. The data from Sunday’s quake showed that the shaking was strongest along the Los Angeles County coastline, progressively lessening as distance from the epicenter rose.
Even modest shaking might be frightening for individuals who have never experienced an earthquake. Seismologists describe the 3.5 magnitude quake as frequently felt but rarely causing damage; nonetheless, bigger quakes at shallow depths or closer to populated areas can pose greater hazards.
Third earthquake in week raises questions about activity
Sunday’s earthquake is the most recent in a string of seismic disturbances impacting the Southern California coast. Earlier this week, a 3.0 magnitude earthquake struck 11 miles southeast of Port Hueneme in Ventura County, while a 2.9 magnitude earthquake struck four miles west of Malibu.
Some residents are wondering if the recent sequence of tremors indicates that something greater is developing beneath the ocean floor. However, geologists warn that minor to moderate earthquakes are prevalent in California because of its location along several fault lines, and clustering does not guarantee a catastrophic occurrence.
California is located along the notorious San Andreas Fault and a number of other fault systems, making seismic activity a common occurrence. Every year, the state experiences thousands of earthquakes, most of which are too tiny for people to feel.
Ohio also experienced small earthquake Sunday
While California battled with coastal shaking, residents of Highland County, Ohio, had an unexpected wake-up call Sunday morning when a 2.5 magnitude earthquake struck at approximately 6:30 a.m., roughly two miles northeast of Hillsboro.
The Ohio earthquake occurred in an area less prone to seismic activity than California. Deputies from the Highland County Sheriff’s Office stated that the tremor caused no injuries or power outages, though several people reported feeling a brief shaking.
While earthquakes in the Midwest and Eastern United States are not as frequent as those on the West Coast, they still happen occasionally, often surprising residents in areas where routine safety conversations do not include earthquake preparedness.
