No injuries as 4.3 magnitude earthquake shakes Los Angeles

CARSON, Calif .– A small earthquake rocked the greater Los Angeles metro area on Friday night, but there were no immediate reports of major damage or injury.

The 4.3 magnitude earthquake struck shortly after 7:58 p.m. and was centered near Carson, about 21 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, according to preliminary information from the US Geological Survey website. .

Its depth has been reported to be around 9 miles (14 kilometers), the USGS reported.

Some people have reported feeling a shake ranging from an instant to 10 seconds through the area. It was widely felt, from neighboring towns such as Santa Monica, Torrance and Beverly Hills to Antelope Valley, an hour’s drive north and south of Orange County and possibly beyond.

Marathon Petroleum’s refinery in Carson lost power and began to burn excess gas in a process known as flaring that sent flames into the sky and prompted calls from people concerned that there was have a fire.

“Flares are safety devices and flares work as intended. There were no injuries or offsite impact, ”company spokesperson Jamal Kheiry told the Los Angeles Times in an email.

The Los Angeles Fire Department went into earthquake emergency mode, sending vehicles and helicopters to patrol its 470 square mile (1,217 square kilometer) area, but said it didn’t ‘had received no reports of “significant damage or injury,” according to a reporting department.

Seismologist Lucy Jones told KCBS-TV that the quake “doesn’t look abnormal at all.”

“This pruning occurs on average somewhere in Southern California every two months,” she said. “When it’s in the middle of the Los Angeles Basin, a lot more people feel it and it becomes bigger news.”