LA HABRA (CBSLA.com) — A 5.1-magnitude earthquake struck La Habra Friday night more than an hour after a smaller quake shook the area, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The temblor, which had a depth of 4.6 miles, hit at 9:09 p.m.
The epicenter was 1 mile east of La Habra, 1 mile west-northwest of Brea, 3 miles south-southwest of Rowland Heights and 4 miles north of Fullerton.
Initially reported to be a magnitude-5.3, the quake was felt in Kern, San Bernardino, Orange, Ventura, Riverside, San Diego and Los Angeles counties. There were no reports of any injuries.
About 40 aftershocks hit the Southland, including a 3.4-magnitude quake at 9:11 p.m. and a magnitude-3.6 at 9:30 p.m.
“This earthquake is relatively close to the 2008 Chino Hills earthquake that was magnitude-5.4 that occurred about 5 miles to the southeast of this earthquake,” Caltech’s Robert Graves said.
Graves added, “As far as specifics on the fault, we don’t have definitive information. There are several active faults in that region that have been mapped. If we don’t have a rupture that breaks right up to the surface, it takes a bit of time to do that investigation.”
Caltech’s Lucy Jones said the fault that caused the quake was close to the Puente Hills thrust (fault) that was responsible for the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake.
“There is no definitive information on the fault,” Jones said. “There are several active faults in that region that have been mapped.”
Jones said Friday’s quake was 10 times larger than the March 17 magnitude-4.4 quake near Encino. She added that every quake has a chance of leading to something bigger.
“Every earthquake has a 5 percent chance of being followed by something larger. The fact that this had a foreshock doesn’t particularly increase that probability,” she said.
Following the quake, the Red Cross of Orange County opened a shelter, located at 101 W. La Habra Boulevard, to assist evacuated La Habra residents.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department received reports of gas leaks in Rowland Heights. La Habra, as well as other areas, had some power outages.
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