Earthquake Los Angeles

An earthquake east of downtown Los Angeles rippled across Southern California before dawn Tuesday, jolting millions of people awake and putting first-responders on alert. “All is calm in the city of Los Angeles,” Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Steve Ruda said. “The building started shaking. The quake hit not far from the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake, a magnitude 5.9 quakes that killed eight people and caused more than $350 million in damage. A 4.4 magnitude earthquake shook California early this morning just east of downtown Los Angeles.

Earthquake Odds: A Global Perspective

A 4.4 magnitude earthquake rattled the Los Angeles area this morning, striking at 4:04 am. This quake follows a 6.6 magnitude quake that hit Tokyo on March 14. This latest series of quakes started with Haiti’s catastrophic earthquake (magnitude 7.0) on January 12.

According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), between 2000 and 2009 the world averaged 1.3 earthquakes annually in the 8.0 to 9.9 range, 13.1 quakes measuring 7.0 to 7.9, and 144.5 events with magnitudes between 6.0 and 6.9 (any quake measuring 6.0 or higher is likely to cause damage in populated areas).

Some of the most deadly earthquakes in history have occurred around the Ring of Fire, including the 2004 Indonesian quake (magnitude 9.1), which triggered a tsunami that killed nearly 228,000 people, the Great Tokyo Earthquake of 1923 (7.9), which killed 142,800 people, and a 1970 earthquake in Peru (7.9) that caused 70,000 deaths. Both Chile and Haiti are at serious risk from aftershocks—lesser quakes that occur in the same area as Earth’s crust adjusts to the main quake’s impacts.

4.4 Magnitude Earthquake Wakes Los Angeles California

The AP is reporting that a 4.4 magnitude earthquake tore across Los Angeles, California just before sunrise this morning. Thankfully, there are no reports of damage or injuries in conjunction with the California earthquake.

According to the US Geological Survey, the 4.4 magnitude earthquake epicenter was about 10 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. There is a minor chance that this 4.4 magnitude California earthquake foreshadows a larger earthquake.