A magnitude 5.2 earthquake, centered about 18 miles southwest of Bakersfield, was felt across a wide swath of Southern California on Tuesday night.
The earthquake, originally estimated to be magnitude 5.3, struck at 9:09 p.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was followed by at least a dozen aftershocks of magnitude 2.5 and up, including magnitude 4.5 and 4.1 earthquakes.
The epicenter was in sparsely populated farmland, about 14 miles northwest of the unincorporated community of Grapevine in Kern County, 60 miles northwest of Santa Clarita, and about 88 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.
Residents described feeling a long duration of shaking. One person in Los Feliz felt 45 seconds of shaking, with at least three different waves — one weak, followed by a strong one, then again by a weak one. In South Pasadena and Whittier, people felt about 20 seconds of shaking, contained in two distinctive waves.
There were no immediate reports of damage. The Los Angeles Fire Department is conducting a routine survey to determine to assess if there is any damage, Mayor Karen Bass’ office said on social media.
The USGS said the quake was felt across the Los Angeles Basin, inland valleys, as well as in Santa Maria, Bakersfield and Fresno.
Many Southern California residents described getting alerts from the USGS’ earthquake early warning system, such as through the MyShake app or on their Android phones. (The earthquake early warning system is automatically installed on Android phones, but people with Apple iOS phones need to install the MyShake app to get the most timely alerts.)
One person described getting 30 to 45 seconds of warning before feeling the shaking arrive. Another person, in East Anaheim, reported getting 30 seconds of warning before shaking arrived.
It occurred 13 miles from Lamont, Calif., 14 miles from Arvin, 19 miles from Rosedale and 22 miles from Oildale.
In the last 10 days, there have been no earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby.
An average of five earthquakes with magnitudes of 5.0 to 6.0 occur per year in California and Nevada, according to a recent three-year data sample.
The earthquake occurred at a depth of 5.6 miles. Did you feel this earthquake? Consider reporting what you felt to the USGS.
Find out what to do before, and during, an earthquake near you by signing up for our Unshaken newsletter, which breaks down emergency preparedness into bite-sized steps over six weeks. Learn more about earthquake kits, which apps you need, Lucy Jones’ most important advice and more at latimes.com/Unshaken.
The first version of this story was automatically generated by Quakebot, a computer application that monitors the latest earthquakes detected by the USGS. A Times editor reviewed the post before it was published. If you’re interested in learning more about the system, visit our list of frequently asked questions.
Times staffers Jon Healey, Jason Neubert, Sandra McDonald and Raul Roa contributed to this report.