Third major earthquake rocks California

June 18, 2005

A sizable earthquake shook Southern California for the third time this week. The quake occurred at 1:53 p.m. Pacific Time on Thursday and reached most parts of Southern California by 1:54 p.m. The 4.9-scale tremor, appearing to have originated 79 miles east of Los Angeles, comes on the tail of two other quakes, including a 7.2 magnitude quake off the coast of Northern California which briefly triggered tsunami warnings Tuesday night.

Geologists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) affirmed that the quake was too weak to cause structural damage to buildings. In Orange County, the quake lasted 5 seconds and rattled objects on shelves.

Geologists expressed concern at the occurrence of three earthquakes so close together in time and space. Other Pacific earthquakes, including one in the Aleutian Islands and another in Chile, have also occurred in recent days.