On January 25, at 7:43 pm, a 4.5 magnitude earthquake struck Southern California. The epicenter was primarily in the San Bernardino area, which is east of Los Angeles.

Earthquakes are ground shaking caused by vibrations on or beneath the Earth’s surface, and can be caused by natural phenomena such as crustal movements, volcanism, and meteorite impacts, as well as by man-made activities such as underground nuclear testing.

Earthquakes affect both the lithosphere and the hydrosphere – when an earthquake occurs, it can cause surface ruptures, earth tremors, soil liquefaction, landslides, aftershocks, tsunamis, and even volcanism, and can affect human life and activities.

This is the second earthquake to hit close to Los Angeles since the beginning of 2024.

The first earthquake posted on was on January 5 at 10:55 am. The epicenter of this quake was in the city of Rancho Cucamonga, but the first quake was of the same magnitude as the second, a 4.5 magnitude quake.

Some ERHS students shared their thoughts on  and experiences with the recent quakes that have hit Southern California.

“The second tremor was really strong,” said Marly Yuan. “I was sitting on my chair and my chair was shaking.”

“It really gave me a scare, everything in my room was moving,” Winnie Shen said. “I was scared that they were going to collapse right away.”

Earthquakes are natural disasters, which affect and scare people. Being prepared can help. Make sure you have a plan in the case of a big earthquake. If you are unsure, there are many resources online, like Ready.gov, to help you prepare for before a quake happens and know how to stay safe during and after a large quake. You can also find many different pre-made safety kits for purchase if you don’t want to put together your own.