Earthquakes Rattle Southern California, British Columbia

A magnitude 4.4 earthquake during rush hour on Tuesday evening triggered multiple aftershocks in southern California, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The initial quake occurred at 5:48 p.m. local time about 2.5 miles outside of Devore, California, a small community in San Bernardino County. Three aftershocks followed within 30 minutes, the USGS reported, and a fifth earthquake occurred at 6:14 a.m. local time on Wednesday.

According to the USGS, the initial quake was widely felt throughout the greater Los Angeles area though there were no reports of significant damage. The aftershocks, ranging in magnitude from 2.7 to 3.8, were not as widely felt, though they still caused some light shaking in the Devore area.

San Bernardino is located about 12 miles southeast of Devore. San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan wrote on his Twitter page that no damage or injuries had been reported to the department, though the earthquake did set off several alarms. Police were responding to those.

Meanwhile, the USGS also indicated that a magnitude 4.8 earthquake occurred about 11 miles outside of Victoria, British Columbia, late Tuesday night. There were no significant aftershocks.

The quake, which occurred at 11:39 p.m., caused light-to-moderate shaking in parts of Canada and throughout northwest Washington, the USGS said. There were no reports of heavy damage.

Victoria is located on an island off the Canadian mainland. While the earthquake did occur in a coastal area, The National Tsunami Warning Center said there was not any threat of a tsunami.