A 4.9 magnitude earthquake centered in San Bernardino County rattled a large section of Southern California on Thursday, the third significant temblor to hit the state in less than a week.
While the quake did not cause major injuries or damage, it shook nerves across the region just two days after a 7.2 quake off the Northern California coast prompted a tsunami warning and four days after many residents were jolted awake by a 5.2 quake centered near Anza.
Then around 11 p.m. Thursday, a quake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 rattled the ocean floor off Northern California, 125 miles west of Eureka. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
It was not strong enough to generate a tsunami warning, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Geological Survey said.
It was, however, probably an aftershock from Tuesday’s quake in the area, she said.
Seismologists said that they found no immediate connection between the other quakes. But they were studying whether the Thursday afternoon quake, north of Yucaipa, could be linked to Sunday’s Anza quake because they occurred 25 miles apart.
Officials said Southern California usually experiences quakes of this magnitude several times a year, but acknowledged that it’s rare for them to occur so close together.
