Riverside County earthquakes felt in Fallbrook

SAN DIEGO – At least two earthquakes – one of them capable of causing moderate damage – rocked an area of Riverside County early this morning and sent the ground shaking for people throughout San Diego County, including Fallbrook, and at least as far south as Tijuana, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The biggest temblor struck with a 4.5 magnitude at 4:49 a.m. at a depth of eight miles, its epicenter 6 miles south-southeast of Mt. San Gorgonio and 8 miles north of Cabazon, according to the USGS. Two minutes later, a magnitude-3.2 quake was recorded in the same area, which is more than 100 miles northeast of downtown San Diego.

There were no immediate reports of damages or injuries, but residents of San Diego County and Tijuana reported being jolted awake, and a City News Reporter on the 10th floor of a downtown San Diego high rise felt the building shudder at 4:51 a.m.

Shortly thereafter, San Diego Fire-Rescue Department dispatchers announced that the region had just experienced an earthquake and directed firefighters to remove all trucks, engines and other apparatus from stations across the city.

"Stand by for communications with your battalion chiefs for injuries and damage assessment,'' the dispatcher broadcast to all stations. Preliminary reports from firefighters suggested there was no damage.

Residents from across Southern California and the northernmost region of Mexico went online to report the quake, or to discuss it and crack jokes on social media. More than 6,700 people had reported feeling it by 5:30 a.m. on the official USGS website. According to a map produced by those reports, the quake was felt as far north as Santa Clarita and Palmdale, in northern Los Angeles County, and as far south as Tijuana.

On Twitter, users from across Southern California reported being jolted awake. Twitter user David Elias, who tweeted from Woodcrest in Riverside County, joked that "an earthquake wakes me up like an alarm never could.''

Others thought the temblor must have been closer to their location based on its strength, like a woman in Pico Rivera, in southeast Los Angeles County, who tweeted with surprise that, "Wow the earthquake was all the way in Banning, I thought it was here.''