4.2-magnitude earthquake shakes Castaic area

Residents describe the moment a 4.2-magnitude earthquake hit Castaic on Saturday.

By Francine Rios and Leanne Suter

Saturday, January 03, 2015 11:28PM

CASTAIC, Calif. (KABC) --

A magnitude-4.2 earthquake hit the Castaic area on Saturday night, shortly after a smaller quake struck.

The larger earthquake hit at about 7:18 p.m. and had a preliminary magnitude of 4.5, before being downgraded. The foreshock measured at a magnitude of 3.0 and hit about 20 minutes before.

RAW VIDEO: Castaic earthquake caught on ABC7 Quake Cam

There were no immediate reports of damages or injuries.

Many residents like Robert Rashid at Young's Market Liquor said if felt like several massive jolts.

"It shook for about probably four to seven seconds, first hit and second hit. The first one was stronger than the second one. The big bottles up high on the shelf were shaking, and I ran outside for a second," he said.

In addition, several Eyewitness News viewers reported feeling the shaking in West Hollywood, Glendale, Alhambra and other locations in the Los Angeles region.

@ABC7 Felt the quake in North San Gabriel. Hit hard and shook back and forth. Only felt about 4-5 seconds. All OK.
— Miss T. (@myteacherMissT) January 4, 2015

@ABC7 we felt the earthquake in Lancaster. Lasted about 10 seconds. Windows rattled. No apparent damage.
— Paul Weatherman (@paulweatherman) January 4, 2015

Dr. Lucy Jones with the U.S. Geological Survey said on Twitter that the earthquake activity happened near the Clearwater fault, and the area has had plenty of quakes in the past.

"It's an area that tends to have earthquakes. It's a relatively active part of the state, and it is a relatively small earthquake. 4.2 is the size of earthquake that happens somewhere in Southern California several times a year," she told Eyewitness News in a telephone interview.

Earlier in the week, another small quake with a magnitude of 3.1 hit the same location.

Video available at source:

http://abc7.com/news/30-magnitude-earthquake-shakes-castaic-lake-dam-area/460872/