Several Santa Clarita residents felt a brief, minor rumble Thursday for a 5.3 earthquake.
The magnitude 5.3 earthquake hit about 35 miles southwest of Channel Islands Beach, according to the California Integrated Seismic Network. The earthquake was reported shortly after 12:25 p.m.
A CalTech seismologist wasn’t surprised Santa Clarita residents felt the quake in our area, considering it was a slightly larger than average quake, said Dr. Susan Hough, USGS seismologist.
However, she said the region will likely feel about 10 such incidents throughout the year and that the earthquake wasn’t necessarily a harbinger of the big one, which has been predicted for years in Southern California.
“I think the Magnitude 5.3 would have been felt in (the Santa Clarita Valley),” Hough said, “earthquakes like this — they’re not a daily occurrence, but they’re not uncommon.”
She added that historical data indicates there’s about a 1-in-20 chance that something bigger will happen in the next three days. However, the chances of the aftershocks being larger than the original quake itself decrease dramatically as the potential size of the aftershock increases. For instance, the odds that something as big as a 6.3 earthquake coming in the next three days decrease to 1-in-200, Hough added.
“There’s a much higher chance of (smaller) aftershocks,” she said. “There was just a 3.1 (magnitude earthquake).”
The Tsunami Warning Center stated that there is no tsunami danger at this time, according to a Tweet from the USGS.
There did not appear to be any damage associated with the incident, according to Los Angeles City Fire officials, who were briefly in “Earthquake Mode” on Thursday:
“Update Earthquake; 1:43PM; 200 N. Main St.; After completing a full survey from both the ground and air of all 470 sq miles of the City of Los Angeles after this morning’s 5.3 earthquake, no damage or injuries were reported. The LAFD is officially out of Earthquake Mode and back in normal operational mode. ; FS 4; Batt 1; Central Bureau; Council District 14; Margaret Stewart:”
