4.5 Ocean Quake Jolts Wide Area of the Southland

A moderate earthquake in the Pacific Ocean off Huntington Beach rumbled through Orange and Los Angeles counties Saturday night, shaking buildings and rattling nerves but causing no known damage or injuries.

Officials at Caltech in Pasadena said the magnitude 4.5 temblor occurred about 9:40 p.m. and was centered 10 miles south-southwest of Huntington Beach.

‘Earthquake Mode’

Los Angeles County fire officials immediately went into “earthquake mode” where checks are made of all departments for damage but none was reported.

Huntington Beach Police Lt. Charles Poe said the quake was felt so strongly at the police station that “we had a couple of guys start to head for the exit, but cooler heads prevailed so we survived.”

The quake, apparently unrelated to the Oct. 1, 1987, magnitude 5.9 Whittier quake, was felt as far north as the San Fernando Valley and as far inland as 70 miles.

Last year’s Whittier quake caused seven deaths, at least $213 million in damage and a number of injuries.

In several parts of Orange County, Saturday night’s earthquake was felt as a moderate, rolling sensation. Irvine police watch commander Lt. Pat Rodgers, reading a press release to a Times reporter at the time the quake was felt, exclaimed: “Holy mackerel! We’ve got an earthquake.”