Earthquake Today: 4.4 Earthquake Rattles Residents Near Fontana in S. California

Earthquake Today: 4.4 Earthquake Rattles Residents Near Fontana in S. California
(Screenshot/USGS)
Jack Phillips
1/15/2014
Updated:
7/18/2015

A 4.4-magnitude earthquake today rattled the Los Angeles area. Several aftershocks were also felt shortly afterward.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake was centered 3 miles north of Fontana at around 1:35 a.m. Wednesday. The town is located around 30 miles east of Los Angeles.

The Fontana Police Department and San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department both told The Associated Press that there aren’t any reports of damage or injuries.

Residents posting on the USGS community Internet intensity map said the quake felt light to weak.

Residents of Fontana and San Bernardino told AP that the shaking as moderate.

“It felt like somebody ran into our building,” Sgt. Chris Hice of the Rialto Police Department told the SB Sun of what he experienced. 

“I just felt the house kind of rocking back and forth like it was on shock absorbers. It only lasted about five seconds. It sounded like a bomb going off, and the house just started rocking,” Riverside resident Jeff Pracht told NBC

NBC and ABC said their newsrooms were flooded with calls after the quake struck.

“I was really, really scared. It woke me up out of my sleep so I didn’t know what was going on,” Fontana resident Raymond Gardner told ABC. “We had the wind all night so I figured maybe it was just the wind but I checked the news this morning and sure enough.”

“It really opened my shutters up, took some drawers out and woke me up really suddenly. I was scared actually and I’m (a California) native,” Fontana resident Francelle Vercher told the station. 

On Twitter, a large number of people commented on the quake.

“Glad i slept through the earthquake last night.. I might of freaked out lol,” tweeted one user.

Another added: “I slept like a baby through the earthquake.”

“I wish I could’ve experienced that earthquake..why did I go to sleep early lol,” said another.

Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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