3.5 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Near Los Angeles

A 3.5 magnitude earthquake struck near Los Angeles, California, on April 3, said the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

A 3.5 magnitude earthquake struck near Los Angeles, California, on April 3, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

The epicenter was located about 5 miles east of Yorba Linda, in Orange County, and about 30 miles from Los Angeles.

The quake hit just after 5 a.m. local time and had a depth of about 2 miles.

The epicenter was located about 5 miles east of Yorba Linda, in Orange County, and about 30 miles from Los Angeles. USGS

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

According to the Los Angeles Times, in the past 10 days, there have been no earthquakes with a magnitude of 3.0 or greater on the Richter scale in the area.

A number of people reported being jolted awake by the tremor in Southern California.

Moderate and weak shaking was reported in Yorba Linda, Anaheim, Orange, Brea, Chino Hills, Corona, Irvine, and other cities, NBC Los Angeles reported.

“Rattled the hell out of the house just now!” said race car driver Graham Rahal, WKZO-TV reported.

After 5 a.m. local time, a torrent of people tweeted about the quake.

California and the rest of the West Coast is located along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” which encircles the Pacific Ocean. It is the most seismically active region in the world.

Quakes on East Coast?

While most of North America east of the Rocky Mountains has infrequent earthquakes, there are hotspots of intense quake activity.

Experts at the USGS say areas like the New Madrid seismic zone centered on southeastern Missouri, or the Charlevoix-Kamouraska seismic zone in New England, or the New York—Philadelphia—Wilmington urban corridor, are hotbeds of seismic activity. But they add that aside from these several areas, the region from the Rockies to the Atlantic can go years without an earthquake large enough to be felt.

The Pacific "Ring of Fire." Public Domain

The USGS points out that while earthquakes east of the Rockies are less common than in the West, they are typically felt over a much broader region.

“East of the Rockies, an earthquake can be felt over an area more than ten times larger than a similar magnitude earthquake on the west coast,” the USGS says.

“It would not be unusual for a magnitude 4.0 earthquake in eastern or central North America to be felt by a significant percentage of the population in many communities more than 60 miles from its source. A magnitude 5.5 earthquake in eastern or central North America might be felt by much of the population out to more than 300 miles from its source.”