The New York Times - July 29, 2008
LOS ANGELES — A moderately strong earthquake shook Southern California on Tuesday, swaying buildings and tossing food off grocery store shelves for about 20 seconds. There were no immediate reports of major injuries or structural damage.
The quake, estimated at 5.4 magnitude (reduced from an initial estimate of 5.8), was centered 35 east of downtown Los Angeles in Chino Hills, just south of Pomona in San Bernardino county. It was felt as far east as Las Vegas and as far south as San Diego.
Cellphone lines were jammed throughout the region as people began to frantically make calls in the immediate moments after the powerful jolt. Some schools, office buildings, tourist attractions and other facilities were evacuated temporarily as people braced for aftershocks, which were numerous and in some cases were as strong as 3.8 magnitude, while the Los Angeles City Council stopped to regroup.
Residents adjusted to that eerie, off-putting sensation of having rolled from side to side on the rollers that are common in seismically engineered buildings, which can leave buildings swaying for several seconds after the quake.
The shake was strong enough to knock pictures off walls and rattle windows, but there appeared to be little damage near the earthquake’s epicenter.
In Riverside, two women suffered minor head injuries from climbing under tables.
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