Public Readings - New earthquake jolts Southern California. An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.5 was reported this morning in Orange County, Calif., just hours after a 4.4-magnitude temblor and several aftershocks struck in nearby Yorba Linda, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
“It’s all just part of the normal seismic activity of California,” John Bellini, a geophysicist for the U.S. Geological Survey told NBC News. “Earthquakes of this size don’t cause a lot of damage.”
The Orange County quake struck at 9:33 a.m. PT this morning. The night before, at 11:23 p.m., a 4.4-magnitude quake rattled the Yorba Linda area. At 11:25 p.m., a quake estimated at magnitude 2.7 struck in the same area, centered two miles from Yorba Linda. The third temblor -- a magnitude 1.2 -- struck at about 11:41 p.m. and was centered one mile from Yorba Linda.
Five more quakes followed in the next 50 minutes, USGS reported. All of them were within two miles of Yorba Linda and ranged from magnitude 1.4 to 2.1.
The Orange Countyquake's epicenter was located five miles from Placentia, six miles from Chino Hills, and eight miles from Orange.
There were no injuries or damage immediately reported following the quake, Bellini said, adding that many people may not even notice an earthquake of this size.
After Tuesday night’s quakes, all fire resources were placed in "Emergency Earthquake Mode," Matt Spence of the Los Angeles Fire Department said in an email statement.
Firefighters from all 106 neighborhood stations on Tuesday night were surveying 470 square miles in the Greater Los Angeles area, Spence said, inspecting residential buildings, schools, powerlines and transportation infrastructures.
By 12:15 a.m., the Emergency Earthquake Mode was lifted and fire officials said they did not find any signficant damage or reports of injuries.
Hundreds of NBCLosAngeles.com Twitter followers and Facebook fans reported feeling the Yorba Linda quake.
"Strong jolts in Whittier. Not looking forward to any after shocks," YeaMe Ceazon wrote on the NBCLA Facebook page.
The shallow quake was felt from the Inland Empire to the coast. Residents in Fontana, Anaheim, Torrance, Hollywood, Long Beach and Burbank also reported feeling the quake.
"I suddenly heard a loud thud coming from what sounded like the roof on my garage and then the whole garage started shaking and creaking," said Jose, in Burbank.
"I started to feel my bed shake and I was like, not again, and then I heard it pop, like a popping sound. And it just kept shaking, shaking, shaking and soon as I got up to get dressed it stopped," said Daphne, in Bellflower.
"I was lying on my livingroom floor of my mobile home in Hermosa Beach, watching the Olympics, when I felt some distinct shaking, light shaking, but it felt like a steady 10-second or so shaking," Karen told NBCLosAngeles.com in an email.