Earthquake swarm rattles Big Sur on California coast

(THE TRIBUNE) – A cluster of at least four small earthquakes reaching up to 3.7 magnitude rattled Big Sur on the California coast early Sunday morning, the U.S. Geological Survey reports.

The other quakes in the swarm ranged from 3.0 to 3.2 magnitude, according to the USGS. The 5-mile deep 3.7-magnitude quake hit at 12:45 a.m., according to the USGS. More followed over the next several hours, with the most recent striking at 6:18 a.m.

Few people reported feeling any of the quakes, which struck around 15 miles offshore near Lopez Point in Big Sur, which stretches from Monterey to San Simeon. Magnitude measures the energy released at the source of the earthquake, the U.S. Geological Survey says. It replaces the old Richter scale. READ MORE