Earthquake Hits LA

An earthquake hit Los Angeles by surprise and we were on the phone right away as soon as we heard the news and asked how are relatives are doing there. It was amazing that none of them got hurt but they really attest to the strong jolts and they all had to sit down and recover from the dizziness.

The quake hit at 11:42 a.m. local time (2:42 p.m. EDT) about 30 miles east of Los Angeles in suburban Chino Hills and registered magnitude 5.4 -- making it the strongest seismic event centered near America's second-largest city since the 6.7-magnitude Northridge quake in 1994.

It was followed in the next few hours by more than 50 aftershocks, the largest measuring 3.6, and geologists said there was a small chance it could be a foreshock to a larger earthquake.

Seismic activity is analyzed on a computer screen at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California July 29, 2008, after a magnitude 5.4 earthquake in Southern California centered in the Chino Hills area.

Earthquakes are really scary and we should always be prepared and not to panic as it can really spell disaster. I am just so thankful that no lives were perished in this earthquake.