A 4.4-magnitude earthquake struck California around 4:04 a.m.
A magnitude-4.4 earthquake rattled residents of southern California early Tuesday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, authorities said. However, police and fire officials said they had received calls from residents awakened by the quake. Its epicenter was 11 miles east-southeast of the Los Angeles Civic Center, the USGS reported. It struck at 4:04 a.m.
“First it was a small one and then a big one,” said Chris Curiel, who was working at the Vallejo Mini Market in Whittier, a town near the epicenter. “It felt like the floor was sinking.”
He said merchandise on the shelves began shaking, but there was no damage. Because his market is a gas station, earthquakes are a bit more worrisome, he said.
Curiel said he knew immediately an earthquake was happening, and he has felt one before.
Ravi Singh, night shift supervisor at a 7-Eleven in Pico Rivera — the town a mile east-northeast of the epicenter — told CNN he was making coffee when the store’s windows started rattling. There was no damage, he said. “Everything is fine.”
iReporter says “it sounded like there were kids dancing upstairs”
Although the temblor was centered 11 miles below the Earth’s surface, according to USGS, the movement was enough to awaken some southern Californians.
“It felt like two quick jolts,” said CNN’s Rosalina Nieves. “I felt some shaking, and I wasn’t sure if it was just my upstairs neighbor … but then you definitely felt two quick jolts.” She said the movement lasted for a couple of seconds.
While earthquakes are common in southern California, Nieves, a native of Los Angeles, said recent earthquakes in Chile and Haiti have caused concern.
“The first thing that jumps into your mind is, ‘Is this the big one?’” she said.
CNN’s Maria White contributed to this report.
A 4.4-magnitude earthquake Tuesday shook the eastern section of Los Angeles and toward southern California before dawn, abruptly waking millions of people, according to several reports.
No major damage or casualties have been linked to the temblor.
“All is calm in the city of Los Angeles,” Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Steve Ruda told The Associated Press.
About an hour following the earthquake, California Highway Patrol receive calls about a buckled 10-foot stretch of concrete in the center lane of southbound Interstate 5 just south of the Downey area, the AP reports.
However, reports came in the day before about the same area being buckled as big-rigs travel that section of the highway frequently so the quake likely didn’t cause the problem, CHP Officer Daniel Asleson informed the AP.
The area has been temporarily patched by California Department of Transportation crews and reopened to commuters.
The 4.4-magnitude temblor hit about 10 miles east of downtown Los Angeles after 4 a.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
“It was a shake, but not bad. Our inmates slept through it and we had a few calls, but not as many as you would think,” Pico Rivera sheriff’s station Sgt. Jacqueline Sanchez told the AP. Deputies were immediately dispatched to make “critical facility checks — bridges and dams, stuff like that,” the sergeant said.
Though the quake was considered small in size, it was felt over a large swath of Southern California.
Residents of San Bernardino County to the east and Santa Monicato the west reportedly felt the earthquake.