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| A broken block wall blocks the sidewalk Saturday, March 29, 2014, after an earthquake hit Orange County Friday night in Fullerton, Calif. More than 100 aftershocks have rattled Orange County south of Los Angeles where a magnitude-5.1 earthquake struck Friday. Despite the relatively minor damage, no injuries have been reported. |
LOS ANGELES
(AP) -- A moderate earthquake that rattled a swath of Southern
California forced several dozen people in one community out of their
homes after firefighters discovered foundation problems that made the
buildings unsafe to enter, authorities said Saturday.
Fire
crews red-tagged 20 apartment units in a building in the Orange County
city of Fullerton after finding a major foundation crack. Structural
woes, including broken chimneys and leaning, were uncovered in half a
dozen single-family houses, which were also deemed unsafe to occupy
until building inspectors clear the structures. The damage displaced 83
residents.
Despite the evacuations and
scattered damage, Friday night's magnitude-5.1 earthquake centered about
25 miles south of downtown Los Angeles mostly frayed nerves.
The
quake was preceded by two smaller foreshocks. More than 100 aftershocks
followed, including a magnitude-4.1 that hit Saturday afternoon, the
largest in the sequence so far that was felt over a wide region. No
injuries were reported.
Residents were
inconvenienced and some lost valuables, but "thankfully the damage
wasn't greater," said Chi-Chung Keung, a spokesman for the city of
Fullerton.
Business owners in Orange County
spent the aftermath sweeping up shattered glass and restocking shelves.
Utility crews worked to restore power and shut off gas leaks and
water-main breaks. A rock slide in the Carbon Canyon area of nearby Brea
also caused a car to overturn. The occupants had minor injuries, and
the road remained closed to traffic.
The Red Cross opened a shelter in neighboring La Habra but closed it once the 38 people who stayed overnight returned home.
"Everything is starting to get settled down here," La Habra police Sgt. Mel Ruiz said.
In
Fullerton, some residents will have to stay elsewhere until building
inspectors can check out the red-tagged apartments and houses and give
an all-clear, Fire Battalion Chief John Stokes said.
Another
14 residential structures around the city suffered lesser damage,
including collapsed fireplaces. Shortly after the main earthquake, the
city dealt with a dozen water-main breaks and multiple natural-gas
leaks, Stokes said.
A water-main break flooded
several floors of Brea City Hall, and the shaking knocked down
computers and ceiling tiles, Stokes said.
It was not immediately clear if City Hall would reopen Monday. An email to the mayor was not immediately returned.
Friday's
jolt was the strongest to strike the greater Los Angeles region since
2008. Southern California has
been in a seismic lull since the deadly
1994 Northridge earthquake killed several dozen people and caused $25
billion in damage.
The latest quake hit a week
after a magnitude-4.4 temblor centered in the San Fernando Valley shook
buildings and rattled nerves.
It appeared to
break a 1-mile segment of the Puente Hills thrust fault, which stretches
from the San Gabriel Valley to downtown Los Angeles and caused the 1987
Whittier Narrows quake that killed eight people. The rupture lasted
half a second, scientists said.
U.S.
Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones said it's unclear whether
Southern California is entering a more active seismic period. "We have
been in a really quiet time. It can't stay that way," Jones said.
A
day after the magnitude-5.1 quake, Peter Novahof went shopping with his
family at a hardware store in Long Beach. Though nothing was knocked
out of his place at his home, he figured it was a good time to think
about securing his television and cupboards with glassware.
"We've
had an earthquake drought for a while," he said. So people are
decorating their houses without taking into consideration that "we're in
earthquake zone."
