102°F
weather icon Clear

Small earthquake rattles Los Angeles area

Updated September 17, 2021 - 11:45 pm

CARSON, Calif. — A small earthquake shook the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area Friday night, but there weren’t any immediate reports of major damage or injuries.

The magnitude-4.3 quake struck shortly after 7:58 p.m. and was centered near Carson, about 21 miles southeast of downtown LA, according to preliminary information from the U.S. Geological Survey website.

Its depth was reported at about 9 miles, the USGS reported.

Some people reported feeling a jolt ranging from a moment to as much as 10 seconds across the area. It was felt widely, from neighboring cities such as Santa Monica, Torrance and Beverly Hills to the Antelope Valley an hour’s drive north and south to Orange County and possibly beyond.

The Marathon Petroleum refinery in Carson lost power and began burning off excess gases in a process known as flaring that sent flames into the sky and prompted calls from people concerned that there was a fire.

“Flares are safety devices and the flares are functioning as intended. There are no injuries or off-site impact,” company spokesman Jamal Kheiry told the Los Angeles Times in an email.

The Los Angeles Fire Department went into earthquake emergency mode, sending vehicles and helicopters to patrol its 470 square miles area but said it didn’t receive any reports of “significant damage or injury,” according to a department statement.

Seismologist Lucy Jones told KCBS-TV that the quake “doesn’t look abnormal at all.”

“This size happens on average somewhere in Southern California every couple of months,” she said. “When it happens to be in the middle of the Los Angeles basin then a lot more people feel it and it becomes bigger news.”

LISTEN TO THE TOP FIVE HERE
Sponsored By One Nevada Credit Union
Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST
Hundreds of students walk out at Stanford University graduation

Hundreds of Stanford University students walked out of their graduation ceremony Sunday in a show of support for Palestinians, capping a tumultuous year on campus rocked by protests related to the Israel-Hamas war.

8 Israeli soldiers killed in southern Gaza

Israel’s military said Saturday that eight soldiers were killed in southern Gaza in the deadliest attack on Israeli forces in months.

US Navy faces its most intense combat since World War II

“It is every single day, every single watch, and some of our ships have been out here for seven-plus months doing that,” said Capt. David Wroe, the commodore overseeing the guided missile destroyers.