Quake rattles S. California

LOS ANGELES – The strongest earthquake to strike a populated area of Southern California in more than a decade rattled windows and chandeliers, made buildings sway and sent people running into the streets on Tuesday. But there were no immediate reports of serious injuries or major damage.

The 5.4-magnitude quake – considered moderate – was felt from Los Angeles to San Diego, and as far east as Las Vegas, 230 miles away. Nearly 30 aftershocks quickly followed, the largest estimated at 3.8.

The quake was centered 29 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles near Chino Hills, a San Bernardino County city of 80,000 built mostly in the early 1990s with the latest in earthquake-resistant technology.

Buildings swayed in downtown Los Angeles for several seconds, leading to the evacuation of some offices.

“I’m still shaking. My knees are wobbling. I thought the building might collapse,” said Rosana Martinez, 50, who works in a fifth-floor office at the California National Bank in downtown Los Angeles.

As strong as it felt, Tuesday’s quake was far less powerful than the deadly magnitude-6.7 Northridge earthquake that toppled bridges and buildings on Jan. 17, 1994. That was the last damaging temblor in Southern California, though not the biggest. A 7.1 quake struck the desert in 1999.

The earthquake had about 1 percent of the energy of the Northridge quake, said Thomas Heaton, director of the earthquake engineering and research laboratory at the California Institute of Technology.

“People have forgotten, I think, what earthquakes feel like,” said Kate Hutton, a seismologist at Caltech. “So I think we should probably look at it as an earthquake drill. … It’s a drill for the ‘Big One’ that will be coming some day.”

California’s Office of Emergency Services received scattered reports of minor infrastructure damage, including broken water mains and gas lines.

“Nothing serious enough to be an immediate threat to lives, but there is some disruption to utility service,” spokesman Kelly Huston said. The damage was in the greater Los Angeles area.

Minor structural damage was reported throughout Los Angeles, along with five minor injuries and people stuck in elevators, said City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, serving as acting mayor. She said there was flooding in one department store.

The California Department of Transportation and California Highway Patrol were assessing freeways to check for damage. Traffic appeared to be flowing easily, however.

“I think we were very lucky with this one,” Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said.

The jolt caused a fire at a Southern California Edison electrical substation in La Habra, about 12 miles southwest of the epicenter, spokesman Paul Klein said. Damage there and to other equipment led to some power outages in Chino Hills, Chino, Diamond Bar and Pomona, he said.