National News

Earthquake shakes wide area of S. California

Posted: Mar 11, 2013 12:59 PM by CBS News

LOS ANGELES - An earthquake rolled through a wide swath of Southern California late Monday morning but there were no immediate reports of damage.

The 9:55 a.m. quake had an estimated magnitude of 4.7, said Nick Scheckel, seismic analyst at the California Institute of Technology's seismological laboratory. He said a number of aftershocks were occurring.

The epicenter was about a dozen miles from the desert town of Anza, about 100 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

The temblor was felt sharply in the local area and caused a swaying or rolling motion in Los Angeles and San Diego.

Near the epicenter, Palms Springs police Sgt. Harvey Reed said his department received no reports of damage or injuries. There were no other immediate reports of damage in the region.

Susie Bride, a cashier at Cahuilla Mountain Market and Cafe in Anza, said the quake seemed to last awhile but didn't do any damage to the business.

"It kind of shook and then I thought, `God, is that an earthquake?' It kind of shook and then it rolled a little bit and then it shook again," she said.

CBS Los Angeles reports that a magnitude-2.3 aftershock - which struck 8 miles northeast of Cherry Valley at 10:06 a.m - was among several aftershocks, according to USGS.