LOS ANGELES (AFP) - – A powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake near the Mexico-US border rocked buildings as far away as Los Angeles and was felt in a wide area in the two countries, officials said.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said its initial assessment found "no significant damage or injuries" but had responded to an increase in alarms and stuck elevators.
The temblor was forceful enough to move buildings in Los Angeles and San Diego in southern California, as well as in Arizona, The Los Angeles Times reported.
The Times said rides were temporarily closed at the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim.
KABC Television in Los Angeles said high-rise buildings in that city and in San Diego rocked back and forth when the quake hit.
The US Geological Survey said the quake, which struck at 2240 GMT, was at a depth of 32.3 kilometers (20.1 miles) was located 26 kilometers (16 miles) south-southwest of Guadalupe Victoria, Baja California, Mexico.
It was 64 kilometers (40 miles) southwest of San Luis, in the US state of Arizona, the USGS added.
The fire department said was checking the quake's impact on transportation, densely populated areas, apartment buildings and power lines to ensure safety.
The report said Los Angeles City Fire Department crews were responding to people trapped in stalled elevators in the city, but there were no reports of serious damage, power outages or injuries in Los Angeles.
The Yuma, Arizona, sheriff's department also told AFP it was responding to many building alarms but that it had no immediate reports of injuries.
In Mexico, the National Seismological Institute said it had not yet received any reports of injuries or damage.
An agency official, Adriana Gonzalez, said that people had reported feeling the quake across a wide area of Baja California and Sonora states.
The USSG said it had reports that the quake was felt as far away as Las Vegas, Nevada, some 460 kilometers (290 miles) from the epicenter as well as in Los Angeles, 360 kilometers away, and in Phoenix, Arizona (300 kilometers).
Mon Apr 05, 2010 10:48 am
