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View Winners → 5.1 Earthquake followed by hundreds of aftershocks and additional temblors over the weekend
Monrovia Weekly Apr 01, 2014
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Damage minor to moderate in some areas
By Terry Miller
A 5.1 earthquake centered in La Habra struck at approximately 9:09 PM last Friday catching Southern California residents largely by surprise.
In Pasadena buildings rocked back and forth for a few seconds and ceiling lamps swayed for a good minute or so but serious damage was reported in our immediate area.
Since then, more than 100 aftershocks continued to rattle Southern California cities on Saturday .
Among the strongest aftershocks, the U.S. Geological Survey reported a magnitude-3.4 struck at 9:02 a.m. PT Saturday, centered close to La Habra near Los Angeles, which took the brunt of the larger quake Friday night.
The strong earthquake was felt widely across the region shortly after 9 p.m. PT Friday. The USGS said the epicenter was 1 mile from Brea, located about 20 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, and 3 miles from Rowland Heights and Fullerton. The main quake was preceded by two foreshocks registering at magnitudes 3.6 and 2.1, scientists said.
USGS seismologist Lucy Jones at CalTech in Pasadena told the Los Angeles Times that the 5.1 quake has a 5% chance of being a foreshock of an even larger quake.
“There could be even a larger earthquake in the next few hours or the next few days,” she said.
CalTech seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones, center, is the voice of reason when earthquakes rattle any part of the world , particularly California – Photo by Terry Miller
A number of residents in the area were displaced by the temblor. Police Lt. Mike Chlebowski told the Los Angeles Times that at least eight homes and 20 apartment units were red-tagged in Fullerton because they were deemed unsafe to occupy.
Some apartments and businesses were damaged by the quake in La Habra, where about 38 residents spent the night at a Red Cross shelter.
20 to 30 businesses suffered broken plate glass windows, many of them along Whittier Boulevard,” La Habra Police Sgt. David Crivelli told the Los Angeles Times.
Southern California Edison reported power outages to nearly 2,000 customers after the quake. The Los Angeles Times reported that more than 800 homes and businesses remained without power as of Saturday morning.
