4.3 Quake Rattles Los Angeles

A magnitude-4.3 earthquake and aftershocks rattled the Los Angeles region today, but there were no immediate reports of damage. The quake hit around 1:47pm local time and was centered 24 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. It was followed by a half-dozen aftershocks up to magnitude-3. The jolt was felt widely across Los Angeles County, including the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys, downtown, and to the coast.

No damage or injuries were reported in the Santa Clarita area near the epicenter, police said. The quake was close to where the 1971 magnitude-6.6 San Fernando earthquake hit. Unlike the San Fernando quake, which occurred on a thrust fault, this one appears to be a strike-slip event in which rocks on either side of the fault slide past each other, said a US Geological Survey geophysicist. "It's not the kind of quake that will break windows or crack walls," he said. (More earthquake stories.)