A magnitude-4.5 earthquake hit the Greater Los Angeles area at 12:58:49 AM (PDT) on Thursday, August 9, 2007.
The epicenter (see the earthquake map below) of the temblor, was 45 kilometers (28 miles) northwest of Los Angeles Civic Center and seven kilometers north-northwest of Chatsworth.
Early reports says that residents in the Los Angeles area were awakened and some items were knocked off shelves and walls.
One commenter on a Los Angeles Times message board wrote: "Was watching Transformers at the AMC in Woodland Hills. The theater started shaking near the end of the final battle scene and everyone was looking around wondering what's going on (is this some weird special effect). Most everyone left right away and I missed the end of the movie!"
Brian Humphrey, spokesman of Los Angeles Fire Department, was cited to say that there were no immediate reports of injuries or major amage.
Previously, Los Angeles was shaken by a more destructive earthquake of a magnitude of 6.8 with the epicenter in the Northridge area at 4:30 a.m., Monday, January 17, 1994.
The Northridge earthquake damaged 114,000 residential and commercial structures spread over 2,100 square miles, took 72 lives, and significantly impaired the Los Angeles regional transportation system (photo above), generating a year’s worth of highway work in a single event. The Federal Emergency Management Agency reported the Northridge earthquake as one of the largest and most costly federal disasters with initial cost estimates of total damages at $25 billion.
Links: USGS & Bloomberg & Laist & Dot & Vernon Lee
