A 4.7 magnitude earthquake struck the Malibu area, shaking up the Southern California coastline on Thursday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The quake struck around 7:28 a.m. Pacific time, at a depth of nearly six miles. It originally registered as a 5.1, but was quickly downgraded to 4.7. It was followed by a 2.8 aftershock just a few minutes later.
The shaking was felt up to 60 miles away across Southern California. People reported feeling shaking as far away as Riverside and Newport Beach.
No reports of injuries or damage have been reported.
Seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones said the region has been having more earthquakes recently. “Whether it’s statistically significant is difficult to tell,” Dr. Jones said, as predicting earthquakes is far from a precise science despite the latest technology.
She added that the region has had more than an average number of 4.0 magnitude earthquakes. A 4.4 magnitude earthquake jolted Southern California last month. The average is about eight a year, but Southern California has seen 14 thus far. The previous high was 13.
Reassuring the public, Jones added, “Notice these numbers are small, however. So yes, we are feeling it but it’s not yet statistically significant.”
“Seismologists look for patterns. Everybody looks for patterns. That’s why we have myths of earthquake weather and animals. All these things are us trying to form a pattern in what is inherently a random distribution,” Jones added.
