Last Night's Earthquake Did Cause Damage

LA Times photographer Jay L. Clendenin shows us why it's important to "drop, cover and hold," as earthquake experts tell us. Yes, this photo (see it, and others, in large here) shows a shard of glass on a chair at a Starbucks at Hawthorne and Artesia boulevards. Another photo shows broken glass from a North Long Beach storefront on the sidewalk.

It's all a sobering reminder to always be cognizant of your surroundings, to say to yourself "if an earthquake happened right now, I should _____.)" Albeit minor damage, this was just a moderate 4.7 magnitude quake.

At a Community Emergency Response Team training a few years ago, one Los Angeles Fire Department teacher told a class of Valley residents that if they are walking on the sidewalk among downtown skyscrapers and a big earthquake strikes, it's probably better to run inside than experiencing a glass shower.