Los Angeles
CNN
—
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.2 hit Southern California on Monday morning.
Experts with the Seismological Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology said the quake was recorded at 10:08 a.m. PT near Julian, California.
The quake was preceded by a 3.3 magnitude foreshock just before 4 p.m. Sunday, Dr. Lucile Jones, a seismologist working with Caltech, said on a call following the quake. Jones said the quake seems to be associated with the Elsinore fault line.
The quake, she added, was relatively deep at about 13 kilometers (about 8 miles) below the surface.
Earthquake rattles parts of Southern California – Source: San Diego Web Cam
Tremors were felt across a large part of the state, from San Diego to Los Angeles. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the quake, according to his office.
“The state is coordinating with local authorities to assess any damage and if emergency response is needed,” Newsom’s office said.
According to United States Geological Survey modeling on the quake, those living closest to the epicenter felt “moderate shaking,” and more than 25 million people experienced “weak to light shaking.”
There isn’t a way for scientists to predict whether Monday’s quake could precede a larger event, Jones said.
“Every earthquake could be a foreshock to something bigger,” she said, adding there’s typically a 5% chance an earthquake could be followed by another, stronger tremor.
CNN’s Stephanie Elam reported from Los Angeles; Brandon Miller reported from Atlanta; and Chelsea Bailey wrote and reported from Washington, DC.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
