A magnitude 4.7 earthquake hit Malibu and nearby communities at 7:28 a.m. today, the U.S. Geological Survey said. A 2.8 aftershock arrived just minutes later, followed by four more ranging from 2.7-3.5 in the next hour-plus.
The first quake, originally reported as a 5.1 but later downgraded, was centered five miles north of Malibu and seven miles deep, USGS said. There have been no reports of injuries or significant damage yet.
In a televised Q&A just after the temblor, USGS seismologist Lucy Jones said: “We have had more than the average [number of] magnitude-4 quakes in Southern California this year — the average being about eight magnitude-4 sequences, that being sequences of at least one magniture-4 … So far we’ve had 14 in Southern California; the largest previous year was 13.
“Notice these numbers are small, however,” she added. “It’s not yet statistically significant.”
Indeed, there has been an usually large number of earthquakes in Southern California in recent weeks. A magnitude-4.4 quake centered near Pasadena rocked the region on August 12, days after a mag-5.2 hit Bakersfield and was felt throughout L.A. County. Last week, a series of small temblors, include a mag-3.9. struck near Ontario, about 35 miles east of downtown L.A.
Jones added during her Q&A today, “It is striking that some of the strongest shaking — not surprisingly — but it’s right there on the Westside of Los Angeles,” She said it was felt as far south as Irvine, nearly 65 miles south of the tony beach community of Malibu.
As always, there’s a 5% chance of today’s quake being a foreshock to a bigger one. “In Southern California, every one of us is within five miles of an active fault,” Jones reminded.
