An earthquake with an early measure of magnitude 6.4 hit Southern California on Thursday morning, according to the US Geological Survey.
At least four large aftershocks have been recorded, measuring 4.7, 3.5, 3.8 and 4.2 magnitude, officials said.
The earthquake started at 10:35 a.m. and centered in Searles Valley about 121 miles from Los Angeles, KTLA reports.
It was felt in central Los Angeles as a long, rolling quake, making buildings rock back and forth for at least several seconds.
Diane Ruggiero, general manager of the Hampton Inn and Suites Ridgecrest in Ridgecrest, told CNN’s Paul Vercammen that the hotel has significant damage.
“The chandeliers are still swinging,” she said five minutes after the quake hit. “The floor rippled.”
Los Angeles International Airport said no damage was reported on runways. “Operations remain normal,” it tweeted.
The epicenter is located within the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division at China Lake, according to KTLA.
Around 30 minutes before the big quake, a magnitude 4.2 also shook the area, seismologist Lucy Jones said in a tweet.
A M6.6 near Ridgecrest. The M4.2 a half hour before was a foreshock. This area had lots of M5+s in the 198os. More soon
— Dr. Lucy Jones (@DrLucyJones) July 4, 2019
Jones also said on Twitter that the quake didn’t happen on the San Andreas fault but instead in an area with “a lot of little faults but no long fault.”
there will also “…be plenty more aftershocks today,” according to Jones.
The #Ridgecrest earthquake is having a robust aftershock sequence. There have been 6 M4+ events and ~30 M3+ in the first 90 minutes. That means there will be plenty more aftershocks today.
— Dr. Lucy Jones (@DrLucyJones) July 4, 2019
