LOS ANGELES — A moderate earthquake, the largest in Southern California since 1999, struck 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday morning. It swayed buildings and tossed food off grocery store shelves, but there were no reports of major injuries or damage.
The earthquake, which registered a 5.4 magnitude, was centered near Chino Hills in San Bernardino County and was felt as far east as Las Vegas and south to San Diego.
“This is moderate,” said Erik Pounders, a geologist with the United States Geological Survey in Pasadena. “Which means it was strong enough to be felt, but wasn’t even powerful enough to knock everything off your desk.”
The quake began slowly about 11:40 a.m. and continued for several disarming seconds. Many residents experienced an eerie, dizzying sensation of having rolled from side to side on rollers that are common in high-rise buildings retrofitted to withstand earthquakes, which leave buildings swaying for several seconds after a quake.
The quake was the largest in Southern California since a 7.1 magnitude quake hit an unpopulated area of the high desert in 1999. The last powerful earthquake in urban Los Angeles — among the most seismically active regions in the world — struck in 1994 and was centered in Northridge, a section of the city in the San Fernando Valley.
New York Times (nytimes.com)
Published: July 30, 2008
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