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The Stig
03-29-2014, 06:49 PM
Original story HERE (http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-51-earthquake-causes-damage-some-flee-from-homes-20140329,0,522498.story#axzz2xNYlaLsm) at LA Times


5.1 earthquake causes damage; some flee from homes

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-51-earthquake-causes-damage-some-flee-from-homes-20140329,0,522498.story#ixzz2xNZFNhZE

By Rong-Gong Lin II and Victoria Kim

March 29, 2014, 12:59 a.m.

Authorities were tallying damage from a magnitude 5.1 earthquake that struck Southern California on Friday night.

Fullerton police said early Saturday that up to 50 people had been displaced because of home damage.

The quake, centered near La Habra, caused furniture to tumble, pictures to fall off walls and glass to break. Merchandise fell off store shelves, and there were reports of plate glass windows shattered.

In Brea, several people suffered minor injuries during a rock slide that overturned their car. Fullerton reported seven water main breaks. Carbon Canyon Road was closed.

Residents across Orange and Los Angeles counties and the Inland Empire reported swinging chandeliers, fireplaces dislodging from walls and lots of rattled nerves. The shake caused a rock slide in Carbon Canyon, causing a car to overturn, according to the Brea Police Department. Fullerton police received reports of water main breaks and windows shattering, but primarily had residents calling about burglar alarms being set off by the quake.

Third-grade teacher Barbara Castillo and her 7-year-old son had just calmed their nerves after an earlier 3.6 temblor and sat down in their La Habra home when their dogs started barking and the second, larger quake struck, causing cabinet doors to swing open, objects to fall off shelves and lights to flicker.

"It just would not stop, it was like an eternity," said Castillo, an 18-year La Habra resident.

At Disneyland in Anaheim, all rides were halted as a precaution but no damage or injuries were reported -- other than ceiling tiles falling in the police station, Sgt. Daron Wyatt said.

The first of a swarm of earthquakes hit the border of La Habra and Brea shortly after 8 p.m. with the 3.6 temblor. About an hour later, at 9:09 p.m., the 5.1 shock hit, followed by at least two more aftershocks in the magnitude-3 range in the next half hour. At least 20 aftershocks had been recorded by late Friday.

U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones said the 5.1 quake has a 5% chance of being a foreshock of a larger temblor.

"There could be even a larger earthquake in the next few hours or the next few days," Jones said during a media briefing at Caltech.

Experts said that based on preliminary data, the series of earthquakes appeared to have occurred on the Puente Hills thrust fault, which stretches from the San Gabriel Valley to downtown Los Angeles. The fault also caused the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake.

Friday night's 5.1 quake was relatively shallow, which "means the shaking is very concentrated in a small area," said Caltech seismologist Egill Hauksson. Hauksson said the quake sequence was unusual in that the 5.1 quake was preceded by the weaker foreshock.

Scientists are particularly concerned about the Puente Hills thrust fault because it goes directly underneath downtown Los Angeles. "This is the fault that could eat L.A.," seismologist Sue Hough told The Times in 2003.

On Friday, though, police and fire departments in Los Angeles reported no damage. "Tonight's earthquake is the second in two weeks, and reminds us to be prepared," Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement.

Although the shaking was felt throughout the region, it didn't rattle the professionalism at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Microphones above the stage swung back and forth and the hall shook, but the orchestra continued playing.

"The L.A. Philharmonic should get combat pay," said audience member Michael Healy of Studio City.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-51-earthquake-causes-damage-some-flee-from-homes-20140329,0,522498.story#ixzz2xNZAQjFN

The Stig
03-29-2014, 06:54 PM
Original story HERE (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/03/29/magnitude-53-quake-shakes-los-angeles-area/?intcmp=latestnews) at Foxnews



Magnitude-5.1 earthquake shakes Los Angeles area
Published March 29, 2014
FoxNews.com

March 28, 2014: A car sits rolled over in the wake of an earthquake on Carbon Canyon Road in Brea, Calif., near Olinda Village. (AP)

A magnitude-5.1 earthquake shook the Los Angeles area and surrounding counties Friday night, authorities said.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck at about 9:11 p.m. and was centered near Brea in Orange County -- about 20 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. It was felt as far south as San Diego and as far north as Ventura County, according to citizen responses collected online by the USGS.

About an hour earlier, a 3.6 quake hit nearby in the city of La Habra.

The Los Angeles Fire Department said it was looking for signs of damage or injuries. Callers to KNX-AM reported seeing a brick wall collapse, water sloshing in a swimming pool, and wires and trees swaying back and forth.

The Los Angeles Times reported that residents in La Habra posted pictures on social media showing broken vases, topped furniture and other items scattered in their homes.

Power outages were reported in some neighborhoods near the epicenter, according to the report.

Broken glass, gas leaks, a water main break and a rockslide were reported near the epicenter, according to Twitter updates from local authorities.

Minor injuries were reported as a result of a rockslide that caused a vehicle rollover and closed a portion of Carbon Canyon Road in Brea, authorities said.

"A lot of the glass in the place shook like crazy," he said. "It started like a roll and then it started shaking like crazy. Everybody ran outside, hugging each other in the streets."

A helicopter news reporter from KNBC-TV reported from above that rides at Disneyland in Anaheim -- several miles from the epicenter -- were stopped as a precaution.

Tom Connolly, a Boeing employee who lives in La Mirada, the next town over from La Habra, said the 5.1 quake lasted about 30 seconds.

"We felt a really good jolt. It was a long rumble and it just didn't feel like it would end," he told The Associated Press by phone. "Right in the beginning it shook really hard, so it was a little unnerving. People got quiet and started bracing themselves by holding on to each other. It was a little scary."

Friday's quake hit a week after a pre-dawn magnitude-4.4 quake centered in the San Fernando Valley rattled a swath of Southern California. That jolt shook buildings and rattled nerves, but did not cause significant damage.

Southern California has not experienced a damaging earthquake since the 1994 magnitude-6.7 Northridge quake killed several dozen people and caused $25 billion in damage.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Fidel MD
03-30-2014, 02:34 AM
Meh. A 5.1 just shakes the dust off the light fixtures...

Stormfeather
03-30-2014, 10:03 PM
5.1?!?!? I dont wake up for anything less than a 5.5.

LUNCHBOX
03-30-2014, 10:43 PM
A 5.1.....thats like a normal power outage there.