(CTN News) – Early on Monday afternoon, a magnitude-4.9 earthquake rattled Southern California, accompanied by many powerful aftershocks. The epicenter of the earthquake, which occurred at 1 p.m. in San Bernardino County, was about 13 miles northeast of Barstow, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

A large portion of Southern California, including metropolitan Los Angeles and northern San Diego County, saw the effects. The USGS swiftly reduced the earthquake’s magnitude from 5.1 to 4.9 after first measuring it at 5.1. Other large aftershocks measured 3.5 and 2.7 in the aftermath.

No immediate reports of casualties or damage were made. According to California Highway Patrol spokeswoman Shane Hernandez, officers are examining important infrastructure, such as bridges and overpasses.

For Hernandez, it felt like a little rolling, KTLA 5 News said. “And then, it seemed as if it was surging up towards us as the aftershocks started to come in. It just seemed to go on forever.

A seismograph at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles captures the exact moment on July 29, 2024, when a 4.9 magnitude earthquake was felt close to Barstow. (Drew Vazinpour, management analyst at Griffith Observatory)

Barstow is situated along the highly trafficked Interstate 15 corridor, about 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

In California, thousands of earthquakes are reported annually, most of which are quite small. Just a few hundred are larger than magnitude 3.0, and just 15 to 20 are larger than magnitude 4.0, according to the USGS.

Alaska is the only state in the continental United States to report more earthquakes annually than California.

Source: Yahoo News