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News

A Long 5.1 Earthquake Hits La Habra

By  Emma G. Gallegos
Published Mar 28, 2014 11:00 PM
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Didja feel it? A 5.1 earthquake lasting about 30 seconds hit Los Angeles County tonight.

The quake struck at 9:09 p.m. about one mile east of La Habra and it was 2.1 miles below the surface. The quake was felt from Kern County to San Diego, according to City News Service. There's been a lot of quaking in the area. At 8:03 p.m., the U.S. Geological Survey reported there was a 3.6-magnitude quake. There were a couple aftershocks, too: there was a 3.4 shaker at 9:11 p.m., and a 3.6 one at 9:30 p.m. Nearby in Brea, there were a few quakes starting at 9:45 p.m.: a 2.7, 2.9 and 2.7.

The fault that caused tonight's quake is the Puente Hills thrust fault, which is the same one that caused the 5.9 magnitude 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake, according to the Los Angeles Times.

There were reports of water main breaks in Fullerton. It doesn't sound like there's been any serious structural damage, but it has made a mess of homes and stores near the epicenter:

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Disneyland played it safe and shut down rides, giving rise to a new genre: Disneyland earthquake selfies.

So far it doesn't sound like there's any serious injuries. The Los Angeles and Orange County Sheriff's Department haven't gotten any calls about damage, nor has the Los Angeles Fire Department.

As with our recent Shamrock Shake, U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones is saying that this quake has a chance (5%, to be precise) of being the foreshock to a larger quake.