A moderate earthquake rattled downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The magnitude-4.1 temblor, which struck at 3:49 p.m., was centered 10 miles southwest of downtown, near Los Angeles International Airport, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
No damage has been reported and there has been no increase in emergency calls, city Fire spokesman Brian Humphrey said. Firefighters were driving through their districts, checking for any possible damage, he said.
The aftershock came two days after a magnitude-4.7 earthquake also centered near the airport.
Tuesday's quake was barely felt at LAX, but emergency workers were checking runways and other airport infrasturcture to make sure nothing was damaged, airport spokesman Tom Winfrey said.
"It was very slight but as a precaution we always do that check," he said. "It was lesser than ones I've felt here before" when nothing was damaged.
Still, the quake rattled nerves.
"It was terrifying," said Esther Robertson, a cashier at a Burlington Coat Factory store near the epicenter in Hawthorne. "People started running out of the store."
