Undersea Earthquakes Off SoCal Coast

Earthquakes struck near San Nicolas Island.

Updated: Sunday, 15 Nov 2009, 4:04 PM PST
Published : Sunday, 15 Nov 2009, 3:14 PM PST

San Nicolas Island - A pair of undersea earthquakes struck the sea floor near San Nicolas Island, 55 miles southwest of Point Fermin, automated seismographs reported today.

The first quake was originally reported by automated equipment as magnitude 4.5, but human review lowered the magnitude to 4.3.

That bigger quake was felt by some in Los Angeles' Westside area and the South Bay, but sheriff's dispatchers in Avalon said they didn't feel a thing.

A second, magnitude 3.6 quake hit almost the exact same spot three minutes later, the automated seismic data reported.

Preliminary, automated data from the U.S. Geological Survey placed both epicenters about 14 miles east of San Nicolas Island, and 56 miles west of Avalon on Santa Catalina Island, in an area where the sea floor is about 2,000 feet below the surface.

No damage or injuries were reported due to the quakes.

http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/news/local/u ... a-20091115