A strong 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit S. California at 1:33 EDT (10:33 PDT). This is the strongest equake in S. California in 20 years. This quake was centered in a remote area of the Searles Valley, north-northeast of Los Angeles and was relatively deep at 5.4 miles. The quake was felt throughout S. California and east to Las Vegas. The fault itself was producing energy for approx. five seconds. Aftershocks (34 already as of 3:08 pm) up to magnitude 5.5 are expected. No reports of damage at the Los Angeles Airports. Minor damage has been reported.

Road Cracked by Earthquake near Trona CA – pic. from “Officer Rob”

Comment: “Dog jumped up and was frightened. Cat …. was a cat ….lifted her head and went back to sleep. Comment: ” I live in Las Vegas and I was sitting in my living room and heard my wind chime that is inside the house and China cabinet rattle I felt the shaking.” From LA Fire Dept: “We are aware of the significant earthquake that just occurred in SoCal. PLEASE do NOT call 9-1-1 unless there are injuries or other dangerous situations. Please do not call with routine questions.”

Shake map shows where the earthquake was felt

The quake was felt throughout Southern California, up into N California, in parts of Nevada, western Arizona and NW Mexico. The governor of California issued a State of Emergency. Multiple injuries and two house fires were reported in Ridgecrest. Emergency crews were also dealing with small vegetation fires, gas leaks and cracked roads, said Kern County Fire Chief David Witt. Here’s a broken water line from the earthquake.