5.2 earthquake rocks Southern California shaking buildings
A 5.2-magnitude earthquake has shaken southern California, sending boulders tumbling on to rural roads outside San Diego and rattling items off shelves and walls, but officials reported no injuries or major damage.
Listen to this article
The quake struck at 10.08am local time, according to the US Geological Survey, and was centred in San Diego County, a couple of miles from Julian, a mountain town of about 1,500 people which is known for its apple pie shops.
It was felt as far north as Los Angeles County, about 120 miles away. The quake was followed by several aftershocks.
"I thought the single-pane windows were going to crack because they were shaking pretty good, but they didn't," said Paul Nelson, owner of a former gold mine that operated in the 1870s in Julian.
He said some picture frames on the counter at the gift shop fell over at the Eagle Mining Co but the tunnels that tourists can explore suffered no damage.
Read More: Democrat state governor evacuated after home set on fire in late-night arson attack
On Sunday, Mr Nelson said a smaller quake hit when about two dozen visitors were touring the defunct mine but everyone stayed calm. No one was inside the old mine when Monday's tremor rocked the ground for a longer time.
Transport officials warned motorists to watch out for rocks tumbling down hillsides and on to roads, including State Route 76 north west of Julian. Crews were assessing roads for potential damage, the California Department of Transportation in San Diego County said.
Schoolchildren were escorted outside buildings as a precaution when the ground started moving, said Captain Thomas Shoots of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for San Diego County. He received a shake alert and then started feeling things rolling and banging.
"There was a lot of shaking and rattling around," he said. "But thankfully everything seems to be back to normal."
San Diego County Sheriff's Department said it had received no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
Riley Ozuna, owner of the Julian Cafe & Bakery, said some cups fell on to the ground at her business. "But everything is OK," she added.
The quake struck 8.3 miles deep near the Elsinore fault zone, one of the busiest seismic areas in California and part of the famous San Andreas fault system that usually sees at least one magnitude 4.0 quake every year, according to Lucy Jones, a veteran seismologist in southern California.
She said the Sunday quake felt in Julian was a 3.5 magnitude tremor that was a foreshock to Monday's larger earthquake.
Some San Diego County residents who subscribe to the early warning system by the USGS were notified a second or two before it was felt on Monday. Others got the notification after the rocking stopped.