Moderate Quake Rocks Los Angeles Area

Los Angeles (myFOXla.com) - A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck Sunday night in the Los Angeles area. There was a magnitude 3.1 aftershock within a few minutes of that quake, followed by a number of smaller ones.

The moderate quake struck shortly before 8:40 p.m., a mile east of Lennox, a mile south southeast of Inglewood and 10 miles south southwest of the Los Angeles Civic Center, according to Caltech.

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The rumbling lasted 10 to 15 seconds and was felt throughout the Greater Los Angeles area and as far south as San Diego, according to various witnesses.

The shaking was most intense in the coastal communities south of LAX. Some residents said books and other items were knocked off the shelves.

Glass broke at a Starbucks in Torrance, and one person there had minor injuries and was taken to Little Company of Mary Hospital, Torrance Fire Department dispatchers said.

The quake, which hit 8.4 miles below the surface, appears consistent with movement on the Newport-Inglewood fault, said USGS geophysicist Ken Hudnut.

The Newport-Inglewood fault was responsible for the magnitude-6.4 Long Beach earthquake in 1933 that caused 120 deaths and more than $50 million in property damage.

The last damaging earthquake in Southern California was the 1994 magnitude-6.7 Northridge quake that toppled bridges and buildings.

Since Northridge, the region has been in a relative seismic lull. In the past year, however, activity has picked up.

Last summer, a 5.4-magnitude quake centered in Chino Hills, east of Los Angeles, rattled windows and made buildings sway, but did not cause major damage. It was the strongest quake to hit since Northridge.

Earlier this year, scientists kept close watch on an earthquake swarm near the southern end of the San Andreas Fault that shook the desert, but did not cause injuries.

"We've had quiet and active times," said USGS seismologist Lucy Jones. "The activity that we've seen in the past year isn't the highest by a long shot, but I would no longer call Los Angeles quiet."

Seismologists had pegged the quake initially at a magnitude-4.7, then revised it to a magnitude-5.0, but updated it about an hour after the temblor struck back to 4.7.

During earthquakes, it's not unusual for magnitudes to change as scientists comb through data from hundreds of seismic stations in the field that record the shaking.

The 3.1 aftershock occurred just after 8:45 p.m. a mile north northwest of Hawthorne and 3 miles southwest of Inglewood, according to Caltech.

A 2.5 "microquake" also struck in the area at 8:44 p.m., according to Caltech.

No fires, structural damage or injuries due to the earthquake were reported in El Segundo, Inglewood, the city of Los Angeles or Los Angeles County, fire and police department officials from various agencies said.

In El Segundo, burglar alarms were triggered and the Chevron refinery had a "burnoff," when excess refinery gases were burned, said Sgt. Mike Gill of the El Segundo Police Department. Burnoffs are standard procedure after an earthquake, Gill said.

The city fire department went on "earthquake emergency mode," although there was no damage reported, according to police and fire officials.

Fire engines at stations in the quake area were initially taken out of their garages as a precaution but were later returned.

Officials at Los Angeles International Airport, which is near the epicenter, released a statement saying, "Operations are normal and there are no flight delays following preliminary inspections of terminals, the airfield, Sepulveda Tunnel and other areas of the LAX Central Terminal Area."

A similar statement was issued by officials at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana in Orange County.