Friday Night Earthquakes Give Malibu a Jolt

•  Magnitude 4.4 Temblor Appears to Have Done Little Reported Damage; M 3.1 Quake Occurs Four and a Half Hours Later

Malibu and surrounding areas from Ventura County to the East San Fernando Valley felt what what appeared to be a series of two minor earthquakes Friday evening. 

The first was a magnitude 4.4 temblor that struck at 6:11.13 p.m., according to United States Geological Survey seismologists who put the epicenter seven miles north of Leo Carrillo Beach and six miles south of Westlake Village in the Santa Monica Mountains  (+34° 4' 8.76", -118° 52' 56.28").

That quake is tentatively determined to have occurred at a depth of 8.6 miles, possibly in one of the unnamed faults that crosses the mountains and connects to the Malibu fault that runs along the coastline on the ocean floor.

The second shaker, a magnitude 3.1 quake (or possible aftershock) registered at 10:34:14 p.m. in  the same area. but closer to the surface at a depth of 4.2 miles.

Posting to the blog after the first temblor had to wait until a thorough check of the main house and all of the outbuildings indicated that the worst of the impact was some slightly askew paintings and picture frames. 

The three Tonkinese cats that had catapulted through the house on the way to cover have now emerged cautiously and appear none the worse for wear. Outside, the howling dogs quickly quieted down and resumed their nocturnal inactivity. 

If the first temblor had occurred after dark, I wouldn't have been able to look outside and see the llama herd head to high ground in the upper corral and cluster there in what I call its "circle-the-wagons" formation. The last tine I saw the llamas do this was about a year ago when P-1, one of the National Park Service-collared mountain lions, was ambling along the property perimeter on his way to the creek for a drink of water.

As for the quake itself, magnitude 4.4 is technically classified as minor, even though this one was sharp enough to send you to a doorframe, but not powerful enough to make you consider heading outdoors. The 3.1 event was barely noticeable.

I am monitoring the USGS data on the temblors and will update the post as more information becomes available.

 

                                                —Anne Soble