As Tropical Storm Hilary bears down on Southern California, a series of earthquakes have complicated the picture further — with the first, a magnitude 5.1 quake, hitting just southeast of Ojai around 2:45 p.m.
More than a dozen aftershocks followed suit, ranging from 2.5 to 3.8 on the Richter scale. Both the Ventura County Sheriff and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass reported that there were no immediate reports of damage. Still, the quakes’ impacts rippled from Ventura to Los Angeles to Kern counties, according to U.S. Geological Survey tool that allows individuals to report their experiences.
One Ventura-based individual reported that he felt over a minute’s worth of rolling; another in Sherman Oaks said they felt a big jostle followed by long, wobbly rolls.
“The hurricane wasn’t enough. We just got hit with an earthquake too,” tweeted Markeia McCarty, a Los Angeles-based actress. “Remember us after we break off into ocean.”
Dr. Lucy Jones, a seismologist based in Southern California, said the earthquake was preceded by a small foreshock sequence that began Saturday morning.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
