An earthquake swarm hits Los Angeles, California

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A swarm of at least four earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.2 off Malibu strikes Los Angeles, California. Getty Images/iStockphoto

A swarm of at least four early morning earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.2 off Malibu Beach woke up in Los Angeles, the US Geological Survey reports.

Other earthquakes that occurred at 2 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 25, off the coast of California had a magnitude of 2.6 to 3.5, according to the USGS.

The USGS reports that the 38-minute series of earthquakes, including one with a magnitude of 4.2, struck about 2.5 miles south of Malibu Beach.

The 9-mile-deep, 4.2-magnitude quake struck at 2 a.m., according to the USGS.

More than 8,700 people from as far away as West Sacramento and Yuma, Arizona, reported feeling the biggest jolt at the agency. More than 900 people reported feeling the 3.5-magnitude quake.

“Wow. That was big,” read one Twitter post.

“Anyone else who woke up to that earthquake?” Another job application.

Another post read, “Everyone on Twitter is coming to confirm that there has been an earthquake.”

Magnitude measures the energy released by the earthquake’s source, says the USGS. It replaces the old Richter scale.

Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 to 5.4 are often felt but rarely cause severe damage, according to Michigan Tech. Earthquakes of less than 2.5 magnitude are rarely felt by most people.

Don Sweeney has been a California newspaper reporter and editor for over 25 years. He has been a real-time correspondent on The Sacramento Bee since 2016.

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