Earthquake: Magnitude 4.1 quake felt around Rose Parade, across L.A.
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake off the Los Angeles County coast brought weak shaking throughout Southern California on Monday.
The temblor, which occurred at 8:27 a.m., was felt throughout Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties, according to earthquake sensing instruments and residents reporting what shaking they felt to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Did You Feel It? website.
Firefighters said the earthquake was “felt by several in Pasadena” as the Rose Parade was underway, “but no injuries or damage reported.”
The weak shaking felt across the region is defined by the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale as being felt noticeably by people indoors and rocking standing motor vehicles slightly.
The earthquake epicenter was about 10 miles southwest of San Pedro, 11 miles southeast of Rancho Palos Verdes, 16 miles southwest of downtown Long Beach, and 16 miles northwest of Avalon on Santa Catalina Island.
The 135th Rose Parade kicks off on New Year’s Day in Pasadena, with the theme ‘Celebrating a World of Music: The Universal Language.’
An average of five earthquakes with magnitudes between 4.0 and 5.0 occur per year in the greater Los Angeles area, according to a recent three-year data sample.
Seismologist Lucy Jones on social media wrote that the New Year’s Day earthquake was “not near any known fault” and “way too small to even talk about tsunamis.”
The California earthquake was “completely unrelated to Japan,” Jones wrote. Western Japan endured its own New Year’s Day earthquake, occurring just after 4 p.m. local time. The largest quake was a magnitude 7.5 and rocked a region about 190 miles northwest of Tokyo, 190 miles northeast of Kyoto and 160 miles northeast of Nagoya.
Japan has dropped its highest-level tsunami alert, issued following a series of major earthquakes on Monday
The strongest shaking in Japan was in Ishikawa prefecture, along the narrow Noto Peninsula that extends off the western Japanese coast. The Associated Press said buildings collapsed and a fire was started in Wajima city, and local news organizations said deaths have been reported.
Japanese broadcaster NHK published a photo of a structure that was believed to be a seven-story building that toppled over in the earthquake. Elsewhere in Wajima, more than 100 buildings are believed to have burned, NHK said, with at least eight deaths reported in Ishikawa.
Find out what to do before, and during, an earthquake near you by signing up for our Unshaken newsletter, which breaks down emergency preparedness into bite-sized steps over six weeks. Learn more about earthquake kits, which apps you need, Lucy Jones’ most important advice and more at latimes.com/Unshaken.
An earlier version of this article was automatically generated by Quakebot, a computer application that monitors the latest earthquakes detected by the USGS. A Times editor reviewed the post before it was published. If you’re interested in learning more about the system, visit our list of frequently asked questions.
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