Robert Chacon
Residents were shook up for the second time this week Thursday when a
moderate-sized quake struck about 70 miles east of Glendale, but no
damage reported in the city.
The 4.9 magnitude earthquake struck in Yucaipa at 1:53 p.m. and
shook for several seconds, according to the California Integrated
Seismic Network. A 3.5 magnitude aftershock followed two minutes
later.
Glendale Fire Department firefighters surveyed their areas for
damage or injuries, but none were reported, Glendale Assistant City
Manager Bob McFall said.
"They checked buildings, roadways and heavy transportation areas
and received reports from local hospitals," he said.
The quake may have shaken the ground but not the nerves of locals,
who said earthquakes are a routine part of living in California.
"Is that what it was?" resident Salvador Zavala said when asked if
he had felt the quake. "I was born in California, it didn't bother
me."
Books at the Brand Bookshop stayed on their shelves, as did beauty
products at Stylux Beauty Center and statuettes at Universal Rugs.
"There was a little shaking, but you tend to forget about it after
it happens," said Ida Sahakian, an employee at Stylux. "You just go
back to your usual routine."
Earthquakes, however, are fast becoming routine this week.
Thursday's quake was the fifth since Sunday. An estimated
5.2-magnitude temblor centered 20 miles south of Palm Springs on
Sunday, followed by a much larger, 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Chile
on Monday, a 6.8 temblor off the Aleutian Islands in Alaska on
Tuesday morning and a 7.2-magnitude earthquake off the coast of
Northern California on Tuesday night. The latter triggered a tsunami
alert for the entire western coast of the United States.
Seismologists are not ruling out a relationship between recent
earthquakes.
"It makes sense that the 5.2 we had last week triggered the 4.9 we
had today," said Nick Scheckel, a Caltech seismologist. "We may be
lulled into the feeling that this is what is happening, but we can't
rule out that quakes happen randomly."
