A moderate earthquake rattled much of Southern California on Thursday, with shaking felt from north of Los Angeles down to the Mexican border. No damage or injuries were reported, according to AP. The U.S. Geological Survey measured a 4.5-magnitude quake at 7:49 p.m. (0349 GMT) just south of San Bernardino, about 55 miles (88 kilometers) east of Los Angeles. The USGS initially reported the quake at 4.9-magnitude, then 5.0. «It was a little roll and big jolt, then a sonic boom kind of noise,» said San Bernardino County Fire Supervisor Tim Franke. While no damage was reported, it shook up people across the region. Citizen reports to the USGS showed the quake was felt as far south as San Diego and as far north as the Palmdale area. The quake struck 10 miles (16 kilometers) deep near the San Jacinto fault, which is part of the San Andreas Fault system, said seismologist Lucy Jones of the U.S. Geological Survey. At least half a dozen smaller aftershocks followed including a magnitude-3.3 that rattled the region an hour later. The quake was the latest moderate temblor to hit the region in recent months. A 5.1-magnitude hit a sparsely populated area of the Mojave Desert in early December. In July a magnitude-5.4 quake centered in the hills east of Los Angeles was the strongest to rattle a populated area of Southern California since the 1994 Northridge disaster.
