2 years ago
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, CA - Hours after a 5.4 magnitude earthquake struck the Los Angeles area at 11:42 Tuesday morning, thousands of people were still shaking. Dozens of aftershocks followed, the largest a magnitude-3.8.
Damage appeared minimal. Gov. Schwarzenegger held a brief news conference to report state and local officials responded quickly, having had plenty of practice.
"Because there are so many disasters in California, we are very well prepared for these things," the governor said.
He said the state is checking the conditions of levees, bridges, power lines, roads and hospitals.
He added Caifornia was "very lucky" this time and urged residents to be prepared.
The center of the quake was about 29 miles east, southeast of downtown Los Angeles and two miles southwest of Chino Hills in San Bernardino County. It erupted seven miles deep in the earth, which is considered shallow, according to Kate Hutton with the United States Geological Survey.
The USGS first assigned a preliminary 5.8 magnitude to the quake but downgraded it to 5.4 after examining equipment readings.
Despite witness reports of swaying buildings, California's stringent earthquake building codes appeared to have worked. There have been no reports of collapsed structures, although bricks did fall off the front of one building.
A water main on a downtown Los Angeles street broke, buckling the pavement. Some windows shattered in buildings in Pomona, seven miles from the quake's epicenter. Items fell off shelves in a Chino Hills store.
KABC 7 in Southern California reported minor damage to runways at the airport in Ontario and the John Wayne Airport in Orange County.
Two nuclear plants in the area did not sustain damage, according to officials.
Rides at Disneyland were halted for safety checks.
Shaking was reported from Los Angeles to San Diego and as far away as Las Vegas. There have been at least 34 small aftershocks reported. The largest was 3.8 magnitude.
A 5.4 magnitude trembler is considered a moderate quake on the Richter scale.
The quake motion was described by several people as "back and forth" and "swaying."
Pauline Havlina, who lives near Los Angeles International Airport, said she was standing in her kitchen when the earthquake hit. "It was a strong jolt at first and then it was a long rolling motion," she said. "I almost fell over."
About 2,000 detectives were attending a gang conference at the Marriott hotel in Anaheim when a violent jolt was felt in the main conference room. Mike Willever, who was at the hotel, said, "First we heard the ceiling shaking, then the chandelier started to shake, then there was a sudden movement of the floor."
A Los Angeles County sheriff's spokesman who was in the sheriff's suburban Monterey Park headquarters describes the shaking as "dramatic." He said, "The whole building moved and it lasted for a while."
Chris Watkins, from San Diego, said he previously felt several earthquakes, but "that was one of the worst ones." Delegates and guests at a cluster of hotels near the Disneyland resort spilled into the streets immediately after the quake. Rides are currently being examined at the resort as guests wait in the park.
Phone Call Overload The Governor's Office of Emergency Services has put out a plea urging people throughout Southern California to cut back telephone use in the aftermath of the earthquake. Spokesman Kelly Huston says the telephone system has been "maxed out" because of the volume of calls from people checking on their friends and relatives and that's creating a danger for those who must call 911 for an emergency. Some people apparently are dialing 911 for general information about the 5.4-magnitude quake. Huston said people should not do that. The urgent request from state emergency officials applies to both cell phones and landline phones. Governor's ResponseGov. Schwarzenegger issued the following statement in response to the quake:
"I have spoken with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, acting Mayor Wendy Greuel, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, and Chino Hills City Manager Doug La Belle to check on the status of their communities and to offer them whatever assistance they need from the state. Our state Office of Emergency Services has reached out to local governments in the affected area to ensure that levees, bridges and other critical infrastructure are inspected and declared safe. We are activating our regional and state emergency operations centers and will continue monitoring the situation closely."
News10/KXTV and The Associated Press
