Two small earthquakes jolted Santa Monica last Saturday, October 22. Both registered 3.1 on the Richter scale.
The epicenter of the first, which hit at 1:18 in the afternoon, was located just off the Pacific coast — two miles east-southeast of Santa Monica and two miles north-northeast of Marina del Rey.
According to data from the U.S. Geological Survey, its hypocentral depth was 7.8 miles below the earth’s surface.
Santa Monica neighbors described the first temblor as a short jolt accompanied by a loud crack — similar to a sonic boom. It was felt as far north as Grass Valley and as for south as La Jolla, but was not felt by some Santa Monica residents.
The second quake, echoing the first in more than magnitude, had a hypocentral depth of eight miles. Like the earlier event, it was located on the 46.6-mile Newport-Inglewood fault zone.
The 8:42 p.m. temblor was centered in virtually the same spot as the first — three miles east-southeast of Santa Monica and two miles north-northeast of Marina del Rey — the closest neighborhood to the epicenter.
Felt as two strong jolts followed by 5 to 10 seconds of shaking, it made tea jump out of cups and framed pictures tilt to one side – and unsettled people as far away as San Miguel, El Cajon and Oceanside. But, like the first, was not felt by all Santa Monica residents.Although the twin quakes alarmed some residents, there were no reports of damage or injuries resulting from the twin quakes.
