A moderate earthquake that was followed by dozens of aftershocks jolted sleepers awake and toppled goods from store shelves Saturday.
The quake hit at 3:37 a.m. and had a magnitude of 5. It was followed three minutes later by a 4-magnitude aftershock, said Steve Bryant, a seismologist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Other aftershocks struck throughout the morning, with the largest magnitudes ranging from 3 to 3.8.
No injuries or serious damage were reported.
The quakes, coming during earthquake-preparedness month in the state, were centered within 13 miles of the epicenter of the 1994 Northridge quake, a 6.7-magnitude shocker that killed 72 people and caused $25 billion in damage.
Barbara Medina was working at a 7-Eleven store when she felt the first aftershock. “Everything just started shaking. Just a couple of cans fell off the shelves,” she said. “It felt stronger than it looked, which was fortunate.”
For unknown reasons, April traditionally is the month with the largest recorded number of earthquakes, said Pat Jorgenson, public affairs director for the U.S Geological Survey in Menlo Park.
