Southern California was hit by a string of small earthquakes over the past 24 hours, including a magnitude 3.4 temblor off Catalina Island, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Officials said six quakes of magnitude 2.5 or greater were recorded across the region, along with dozens of smaller microquakes.
The activity began Friday night at about 10:46 p.m. with a magnitude 2.5 quake about 3.7 miles southwest of Ojai in Ventura County. Another magnitude 2.7 quake struck at 12:34 a.m. Saturday in Westmont, east of LAX. From about 4 a.m. on, a cluster of quakes was concentrated offshore southeast of Avalon on Catalina Island.
That sequence included a magnitude 2.6 quake at 4:03 a.m., a magnitude 3.0 quake at 4:11 a.m., and the largest quake in the series, a magnitude 3.4 offshore tremor at 4:13 a.m. Another magnitude 2.6 quake was recorded at 4:32 a.m. near Westmont. USGS earthquake maps showed especially active seismic movement in the Westmont area of Los Angeles.
The most recent quake reported was a magnitude 1.8 microquake at 2:29 p.m. Saturday. Seismologists have warned residents to stay prepared at all times, citing research that says stress levels on the San Andreas and San Jacinto fault systems are at their highest in 1,000 years.
