Multiple Earthquakes Rock Los Angeles Area at Up to 5.1 Magnitude

An earthquake rocked Los Angeles just after 9 p.m. Pacific time on Friday, registering a 5.1 on the Richter scale.

The quake, which hit just one mile from La Habra California, is believed to have occurred on the Puente Hills thrust fault, which stretches from the San Gabriel Valley to downtown Los Angeles and caused the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake.

There have been about 20 aftershocks from the quake, and it has been reported that there were several smaller earthquakes or foreshocks. The swarm of earthquakes began at 8:03 p.m., when a 3.6 earthquake hit. That ended up being a foreshock of the largest earthquake to hit, a magnitude 5.1 at 9:09 p.m. At least two more aftershocks hit in the 3 range, a 3.4 at 9:11 p.m. and a 3.6 at 9:30 p.m.

So far there have been only reports of modest damage. No structural damage has been reported.