4.4 earthquake near South Pasadena shakes Long Beach, LA area

Long Beach and other nearby areas got a good shaking Monday afternoon when an earthquake hit near South Pasadena at about 12:20 p.m.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported a preliminary magnitude of 4.7 but soon downgraded it to 4.4.

Shaking was felt across a wide swath of Southern California . Places as far away as Ridgecrest and Twentynine Palms reported feeling light swaying.

Southland earthquake expert Lucy Jones told reporters the earthquake appeared to be based in the same group of faults that created the 1987 Whittier Narrows quake. She noted that it occurred in roughly the same location as a 3.4-magnitude quake that struck on June 2.

“There have been others in the past,” Jones said. “In 1989, we had a pair of four-and-a-half’s there were also in the system that were just a half-hour apart. There have been plenty of small ones over the years that are also within this.”

It comes just six days after a 5.3 magnitude quake near Bakersfield — followed by a series of aftershocks — rattled the region.

There weren’t any immediate reports of damage or injuries in Long Beach Monday. The city said crews were assessing critical facilities.

In Pasadena, close to the quake’s epicenter, a water line ruptured as a result of the quake at Pasadena City Hall, and water could be seen pouring out of a pipe on the building’s exterior. Employees mostly evacuated the building but began going back inside around 1:15 p.m.

Metro also alerted riders that trains throughout its transit system would be slowing down so tracks could be checked for any possible damage.

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