Magnitude 4.7 earthquake strikes near Malibu

A magnitude 4.7 earthquake hit near Malibu early Thursday morning.

It struck 7:28 a.m. and was 3.5 miles northwest of Malibu and 4.9 miles southwest of Agoura Hills, according to the the U.S. Geological Survey.

It was initially reported as a 4.6 magnitude.

Seismologist Lucy Jones from Caltech said that the quake caused "light" shaking in Malibu, Thousand Oaks, Agoura Hills, and Calabasas.

“ Earthquake triggers are not confined to the fault that it's actually located on,” she said. “So we have some slight probability. It's about five percent of earthquakes in Southern California are followed by something bigger and the fact that it's not on a major fault or that it's not clearly associated with, it doesn't affect that number at all.”

Malibu Mayor Doug Stewart told L.A.’s Morning News the earthquake was a wakeup call.

“I happen to live not too far away from where the epicenter is and as soon as the earthquake alert went off I felt the jolt," he said. “In fact, [I] dove underneath the kitchen table.”

He said the city’s public works department was activated and that they’re checking throughout the city.

“We have no reports of injuries, no reports of damage. Probably some rocks, small slides around the area, but so far nothing material,” he said. “We've already spoken to our sister agencies. I've already spoken with Supervisor [Lindsey] Horvath this morning. She was on the phone with me literally within a couple of minutes after the earthquake. She was right on top of it to find out what we knew and how she could help.”

Robert Kerbeck, a resident in Malibu, said the earthquake was “far stronger” than the recent earthquakes.

“My daughter… she was upstairs. My wife was upstairs and I was concerned for their safety,” he said. ”I was concerned that something could have happened. That's how strong it was.”

Stephanie in North Hills said she felt two jolts.

“I had my dog with me and she did not react to the first jolt,” she said. “Then the earthquake alarm went off and then we felt the second one.”

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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told L.A.’s Morning News that not only did she feel it, but she also got the earthquake alert on her phone.

“I was very glad to get that alert at the same time I was feeling the jolts,” she said.

She added that all departments were on alert and that she hoped the earthquake would serve as a reminder for people to be ready.

“We never know when this is going to happen,” she said.

The Los Angeles Fire Department went into earthquake mode and found no significant structure damages or injuries.

City News Service contributed to this report.

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