Last week, Northern California “dodged a bullet” when a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck off the Eureka coast. This morning, Southern California . A magnitude 4.4 quake originated in the San Fernando Valley, about six miles north-northwest of the westside L.A. neighborhood Westwood.
Occurring at 6:25 a.m., the earthquake was the largest to strike Los Angeles in years and shook many area residents awake. In a press conference, USGS seismologist Robert Graves noted that six aftershocks, including a magnitude 2.7 tremor, followed the quake but that the probability of the quake foreshadowing a more serious episode was only about 5 percent. Scientists have predicted for years that the next “megaquake” to shake the West Coast could strike Los Angeles.
Because Southern California , it continued the trend of major metropolitan areas overreacting to moderate tremors. The LAPD tweeted a request , saying, “We are well aware of it. Lines need to be kept open for emergencies.” Local news anchors on KTLA reacted .
, forever answering the question of how American luminaries like Kim Kardashian and Ryan Seacrest would respond to a natural disaster:
OMG! Did anyone just feel that Earthquake? So scary, woke me up out of an already scary nightmare. I hate earthquakes. 馃檨
鈥 Paris Hilton (@ParisHilton)
earthquake felt while playing happy by pharrell on radio
鈥 Ryan Seacrest (@RyanSeacrest)