LOS ANGELES: More than 100 aftershocks have been reported across Southern California following a 5.1 magnitude earthquake that rattled suburban Los Angeles and at least temporarily displaced about 50 people but caused no serious structural damage, seismologists said on Saturday.
No injuries were reported from the Friday quake centered outside La Habra, about 20 miles (32 km) east of downtown Los Angeles, but the temblor displaced at least 50 people in Fullerton, about 5 miles (8 km) from the epicenter, because of minor damage, Fullerton Police Lt. Mike Chlebowski said.
“Five houses and 20 apartments were damaged by the earthquake, but the fire department is in the process of determining the extent,” he said, adding that a water main break in the city forced the closure of surrounding streets due to flooding.
The temblor also shook items off tables, rattled chandeliers and resulted in scattered damage to cars and property, including setting off a rockslide in the Orange County city of Brea that flipped a car on its roof.
Aftershocks were still being recorded by the United States Geological Survey early on Saturday, nearly 12 hours after the quake struck. But the Los Angeles Fire Department said it had called off its “earthquake mode.”
90 still missing
Families and friends of the 90 people still missing in the Washington state mudslide are bracing for a rise in the official death toll as searchers ready for another day of slogging through heaps of mud-caked debris and the governor called for a statewide moment of silence.
“The number is so big and it’s so negative. It’s hard to grasp,” said 66-year-old Bob Michajla, a volunteer who has been helping search part of the square-mile (2.6 square-km) debris field. “These are all friends and neighbors and family. Everybody knows everybody in this valley.”
