4.9 Magnitude Quake Strikes Near Indio, California, Sparks Aftershocks

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck near Indio in Southern California's Riverside County on Monday evening, triggering a swarm of aftershocks that continued into Tuesday and rattled residents across a wide region.

The quake hit at 5:56 p.m. PST, centered about 12 miles north-northeast of Indio along a section of the San Andreas Fault known as the Mission Creek strand. It occurred at a shallow depth of nearly two miles and registered an intensity of V on the Modified Mercalli scale, strong enough to overturn unstable objects and break dishes in some areas. Thousands of reports poured in to the U.S. Geological Survey from locations including Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside, Orange County, the Inland Empire and as far as Thousand Oaks and the Salton Sea. The shaking reached over five million people in the Los Angeles and San Diego areas, more than 100 miles from the epicenter.

No injuries or structural damage were reported. Indio police Sgt. Abraham Plata stated that authorities received no calls about harm or destruction. Officials with the Cal Fire Riverside County Fire Department confirmed they had no notifications of damage or casualties. The earthquake prompted a ShakeAlert...