From City News Service:
A 7.2 earthquake epicentered near Mexicali has rocked all of Southern California and set high rise buildings in Los Angeles and San Diego rocking back and forth. The quake struck at 3:40 p.m. The quake was initially reported as a magnitude-6.9.
Preliminary USGS information indicated the epicenter was 19 miles southeast of Mexicali, at an area that has been rocking with magnitude 3.0 quakes all week.
Although felt in South Bay, the quake did not cause extensive damages or injuries, local fire department and police officials have initially reported.
The rocking lasted for about a minute. Strong shaking was reported in the Coachella Valley and Riverside. Highrise structures in San Diego and Los Angeles rolled, at first gently and then much more strongly. The quake was felt as far north as Santa Barbara, USGS seismologist Susan Potter said.
City News Service is reporting that Los Angeles fire department officials have gone on earthquake status, and are inspecting buildings and overpasses for damage. No extensive damages or serious injuries have been reported.
The quake was felt in Las Vegas and Phoenix.
Los Angeles City Fire Department helicopter crews report that they have finished an initial assessment and see no damage, no fires, and all reservoirs are holding water normally, according to their report monitored on a police scanner.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power says there are no power outages
anywhere in the city, spokeswoman Maryanne Pierson said.
The U.S. Geological Survey says three strong jolts including a magnitude-5.1 aftershock were
felt in the Imperial County desert east of San Diego in the hour after the magnitude-7.2 quake
struck in Baja. Magnitude-4.5 and magnitude-4.3 aftershocks came before and after.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The baja quake was followed by a magnitude-4.0 tremblor in Northern California.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake hit at 3:49 p.m., about 25 miles north of Santa Rosa. A dispatcher with the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department, located in a dispatch center in Santa Rosa, said he did not feel the quake.
The dispatcher said the department had not received any calls for service after the
quake.
We'll have more as it comes in.
