California earthquake: Is there an earthquake now in Los Angeles?
A 4.2-magnitude earthquake has struck the west coast of the United States, with an epicenter just a few miles from Malibu Beach.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning a sizeable earthquake was recorded in the Malibu area of California. The US Geological Survey (USGS) recorded a preliminary 4.2-magnitude quake, followed by a jolt registering a strength of 3.5-magnitude.
The first earthquake is thought to have occurred roughly 10 miles south of Malibu Beach, at a depth of around 9.2 miles. The following jolt had roughly the same epicentre, but at a depth of around 8 miles.
The epicentre was thought to be around 30 miles from Los Angeles, and comes just weeks after a major 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck the north of the states. That previous quake killed two people and left thousands of residents without power for days.
The scale of the damage for today’s quake is, as yet, unclear. The USGS’ Shake Alert system was alerted to the seismic activity at 2:03am local time and the earthquake appears to have been felt right across Los Angeles and beyond.
However some residents do not appear greatly concerned about the quake, judging by social media. One Twitter user wrote: “You know you’re a Californian when you’re sitting in your bed waiting for it to get worse while you scroll and sip tea.”
We’ll keep you up to date on this breaking news story as it develops…