Earthquake shakes California as Los Angeles residents experience ‘sudden jolts’ following expert’s grave warning

Residents in Los Angeles County reported feeling “sudden jolts” as a Valentine’s Day earthquake struck, just days after an expert warned California could experience more tremors following a string of earthquakes.

According to the US Geological Survey, a 3.7-magnitude earthquake struck the Malibu area at approximately 11:44 p.m. on Friday, February 14. It occurred at a reported depth of 15.3 kilometers in the northwest area of Malibu. There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

This comes as the area is dealing with mud and debris flow caused by a heavy storm that dumped several inches of rain in Southern California, as well as a series of minor tremors. Residents in the area have used X, formerly Twitter, to report the earthquake.

X user Houman David Hemmati wrote: “Whoa.” A sudden jolt from an earthquake in Los Angeles!” He then provided an update, stating, “Wasn’t bad! Do not worry.” Other social media users quickly reported that they, too, felt it.

Another commented, “3.7 Earthquake. “Fires, mudslides, and now an earthquake.” Just before midnight, widespread shaking was reported in Malibu, Agoura Hills, Thousand Oaks, Camarillo, South Bay communities, Long Beach, the San Fernando Valley, and other areas of Los Angeles.

It comes after an expert urged California residents to “remain alert” after a series of earthquakes struck the state within 48 hours this week and warned these smaller tremors could be leading to a larger earthquake to come.

The first earthquake, measuring 3.5 on the Richter scale, struck San Bernardino at 9.44 a.m. on Monday, February 10, and was followed by a 3.0 magnitude tremor just minutes later, according to the US Geological Survey. CalTech researchers reported that the second quake was an aftershock.

At 9.58 p.m., a third earthquake struck approximately 3.1 miles north-northeast of the Californian city at a depth of 5.1 miles. On Tuesday morning, a 4.1-magnitude earthquake struck 26 miles from Ferndale. The quake struck shortly after midnight, at a depth of 12 miles.

It was followed by a 3.0 magnitude earthquake near Greenville at 19:12 pm before a 4.5 magnitude one was recorded near Ferndale at 20:32 pm. Dr Jess Johnson, associate professor in Geophysics at the University of East Anglia told The Mirror US : “These earthquakes are fairly small and only a handful were felt by residents. The largest one so far, a Magnitude 4.5 at 2025-02-12 04:32:40 (UTC), was reported to be felt by less than 200 people and had a weak shaking intensity of III (three) out of X+ (ten or more).”