Magnitude-4.4 earthquake shakes Southern Calif.

[March 16, 2010]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A pre-dawn earthquake shook Southern California on Tuesday, startling residents from their sleep.

The magnitude-4.4 quake, centered about 10 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, struck shortly after 4 a.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or serious damage. Though the quake was considered small, it was felt over a large swath of Southern California. Online citizen reports gathered by the USGS show the temblor was felt as far west as the coast.

Los Angeles County Fire Department supervisor Andre Gougis said the agency was surveying the area, but had received no immediate reports of damage.

The quake hit not far from the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake, a magnitude 5.9 quake that killed eight people and caused more than $350 million in damage.

The latest jolt was not likely to inflict the same damage.

"I'm sure people would have felt it, but this is not an earthquake that will be damaging," said USGS geophysicist Amy Vaughan.

[Associated Press]

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