Earthquake strikes just off coast of Los Angeles as floors shake Sunday morning

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A 3.6-magnitude earthquake struck just off the coast of Los Angeles Sunday morning.

The quake hit at 8:40 a.m., with the epicenter located about 6 kilometers west of Hermosa Beach, according to the USGS.

The quake occurred at a depth of roughly 6 miles.

The tremor was detected across the South Bay, with the USGS receiving hundreds of “Did You Feel It?” reports following the earthquake. The agency’s preliminary intensity rating for the event was III, indicating weak shaking.

The earthquake comes as Southern California continues to experience periodic seismic activity, with several small earthquakes recorded across the region in recent weeks.

There were no immediate reports of major damage or injuries associated with Sunday morning’s earthquake.

The USGS initially listed the earthquake at magnitude 3.5, with its reviewed location placing the event offshore near the South Bay.

There has been no tsunami warning issued.

Kelsey Goldbach, a Santa Monica resident who recently moved back to California, said it was her first earthquake in the city.

“I am working from home today, and I was sitting at my desk. I felt a rumble, like I thought a truck was driving by, and then I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s an earthquake,’” she told The California Post. “Nothing fell in my house, luckily, and I had no Wi-Fi problems, which was great, but it was just a little rough start to my Sunday morning.”

The latest shaking follows two earthquakes that struck California earlier Sunday morning. A magnitude-3.5 quake hit shortly after 7:20 a.m., followed by a magnitude-2.6 tremor about 20 minutes later, with shaking reportedly felt across parts of the South Bay and beyond, according to the USGS.

The back-to-back earthquakes come amid a recent stretch of seismic activity across California. More than 60 low-magnitude earthquakes were recorded across Southern California during one recent Saturday, most registering below magnitude 2.0, according to the USGS.

Recent activity has included a magnitude-3.1 earthquake near Compton on Sept. 17, which was felt in Long Beach, Downey and Paramount, as well as a magnitude-3.2 quake near the same area earlier this month.

Other recent earthquakes have struck offshore and farther north, including a pair of quakes southeast of Catalina Island that hit within minutes of each other and a separate magnitude-3.4 earthquake that shook parts of the San Francisco Bay Area.

While the recent earthquakes have been relatively small, they come as scientists continue to warn that California’s major fault systems are capable of producing far more powerful earthquakes.

Caltech seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones has modeled a magnitude-7.8 rupture along the southern San Andreas Fault, a scenario that could produce prolonged, destructive shaking across Southern California and severely disrupt transportation and critical infrastructure.

Research from the University of Bern has also examined seismic stress around the Cajon Pass, where the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults meet. Researchers have studied the area as a potential “earthquake gate” that could influence whether a future rupture spreads across both fault systems.

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