Southern California

Magnitude-3.9 Quake Strikes Off SoCal Coast

A preliminary magnitude-3.9 earthquake struck 12 miles south of San Pedro off the coast of Southern California Tuesday, according to the USGS.

The quake, about 2 miles deep, struck about 3:26 p.m. in the Pacific Ocean between San Pedro and Catalina Island.

Residents reported feeling the quake in Santa Monica, San Pedro, Long Beach, Manhattan Beach and Hawthorne.

"Some of us felt the building shake," said a watch commander at the LAPD Harbor Division Station in San Pedro. "The shaking only last a couple of seconds."

Steve Sheldon, manager of the Queen Mary in Long Beach called the quick shake "definitely an interesting experience."

"We were in a meeting and heard and felt kind of a shutter, and you know, on an 80-year-old ship, you feel those once in a while," Sheldon said. "But it lasted four to five seconds here, so we definitely knew it was something different."

Sheldon said while he and his colleagues felt the jolt, many of the ship's passengers attending the CHILL event didn't feel the quake.

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