Earthquakes Rattle Westwood, Twentynine Palms

TWENTYNINE PALMS (CBSLA) — Earthquakes rattled two Southland areas Thursday, including a series of quakes that struck a remote area of San Bernardino County on the edge of the Marine Corps Base in Twentynine Palms.

The strongest temblor was a magnitude-4.0 quake that struck at 8:41 a.m., with an epicenter about 7 miles west of Ludlow, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake initially registered as a magnitude-3.8.

The area began shaking at about 8 a.m. with a magnitude-2.4 earthquake. By 9 a.m., the area had been hit by nine earthquakes ranging from 2.1 to 4.0.

The area is in a remote location along the Needles (40) Freeway. It's not clear if there were any damages caused by the earthquakes. According to "Did You Feel It" responses submitted to the USGS, the strongest quake was felt as far away as Laughlin, Nev., which is 93 miles away from the epicenter, and Los Angeles, 125 miles away.

Later in the day, a minor earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 2.8 struck just northwest of Westwood, according to the U.S. Geological Survey at 6:20 p.m. Westwood is 180 miles from Ludlow, and the earthquake activity do not appear related.