A magnitude 4.7 earthquake just north of Malibu rattled Southern California on Thursday.
The temblor struck at 7:28 a.m. and was felt across the region. Significant damage is not expected from an earthquake of this magnitude.
The earthquake epicenter was closest to the Malibu fault, said seismologist Lucy Jones, a Caltech research associate.
“Light” shaking, as defined by the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale, was felt in Malibu, Thousand Oaks, Agoura Hills and Calabasas. Light shaking disturbs dishes, windows and doors, makes cracking sounds in walls, and can feel like a heavy truck has struck a building.
“Weak” shaking was felt over most of the Los Angeles metropolitan region, including downtown L.A.; Santa Monica; Long Beach; the San Fernando, San Gabriel and Antelope valleys; Orange County and the Inland Empire.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map placed the earthquake epicenter in Malibu, just east of South Kanan Dume Road.
(USGS)
There have been more noticeably felt earthquakes recently in highly populated areas of Southern California. But that fact doesn’t help predict whether a larger, destructive earthquake is expected to occur sooner than later, earthquake experts said.
Some residents were alerted by the state’s earthquake early warning system.
Shortly after the earthquake, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said on X that the city’s fire department activated its routine survey of the city to assess for damages. At this time all the fire stations are currently conducting the surveys and there aren’t any initial reports of damage so far, said Margaret Stewart, spokesperson for the fire department.
The quake was centered in the Malibu hills off Kanan-Dume Road around Ramirez Canyon.
