Strong quake swayed buildings in California by Magdalena Rosova

Strong earthquake hit a populated area of Southern California and made buildings shake and people run into the streets on Tuesday. However, there were no immediate reports of serious injuries or damage.

The 5.4-magnitude quake was felt from Los Angeles to San Diego. About 30 aftershocks quickly followed.

The quake was centered 29 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, a San Bernardino County city built in 1990s with the earthquake-resistant technology.

Buildings shook in downtown Los Angeles for few seconds, some offices were evacuated. "I'm still shaking. My knees are wobbling. I thought the building might collapse," said Rosana Martinez, who works in a fifth-floor office in downtown Los Angeles.

There were no serious damage that will be threat to lives, only minor infrastructure damage including broken water mains and gas lines. Some people were stuck in elevators, five minor injuries happened and there was flooding in one store. Traffic flew easily, fortunately.

"People have forgotten, I think, what earthquakes feel like," said Kate Hutton, a seismologist, "So I think we should probably look at it as an earthquake drill. ... It's a drill for the `Big One' that will be coming some day."

Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure theme parks were temporarily closed after the shaking. The quake interrupted a meeting of the Los Angeles City Council just as they were talking about plan to increase trash fees.

Chino Hills, near the epicenter, was incorporated in 1991, so most of constructions are built to a modern safety standards. There were no reports of harm, only cell phone service was disrupted.

"I think we were very lucky with this one," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said according to quake.


related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080730/ap_on_re_us/california_earthquake;_ylt=AhtHaXCiZbWwVHe3YnOESJ9H2ocA

by Magdalena Rosova for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

PocketNews is a new real-time news broadcaster delivering the latest and hottest news right to your pocket ! With global clients who want to be kept up to date, PocketNews is everyone's way of keeping in touch with the World.<br><br><font size=2>These news are original content from young talents around the world and are selected for you by Chris Cantell.</font><br>

edited by Beata Biskova