Magnitude 3.6 earthquake near Westwood jolts parts of L.A.

A magnitude 3.6 earthquake was felt in Los Angeles on Monday night, particularly on the Westside and in the San Fernando Valley.

The epicenter of the earthquake, which struck at 11:20 p.m., was just west of the Sepulveda Pass of the 405 Freeway in the Santa Monica Mountains.

The U.S. Geological Survey’s ShakeMap said light to moderate shaking — categorized as intensity 4 and 5, and depicted on a map as aqua and green — was felt in parts of the Westside and the San Fernando Valley, but probably was not heavy enough to cause any significant damage. Shaking was also felt in Los Feliz, Silver Lake and Glendale.

But not everyone felt the temblor — some in Westwood slept through the earthquake.

“We get these size earthquakes fairly frequently,” said U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Zachary Reeves. “Any severe damage would be pretty unlikely.”

Moderate shaking — or intensity 5 shaking — is defined by the USGS as “felt by nearly everyone; many awakened. Some dishes, windows broken. Unstable objects overturned. Pendulum clocks may stop.”

Light shaking, or intensity 4 shaking, is defined as having a strength that can awaken some people and disturb dishes, windows and doors; can cause walls to make a cracking sound; or provide the sensation of a heavy truck striking a building.

There were no reports of damage. It was followed by a 2.0 magnitude aftershock.

The last notable earthquake in the Westwood area was a 4.4 magnitude temblor that struck in 2014.

Seismologist Lucy Jones said on Twitter that the quake was on a small east-trending thrust fault.

This graphic shows how the quake was felt and reported:

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UPDATES:

Noon: Updated with more graphics.
9:30 a.m.: Updated with information on fault.

7:35 a.m. Tuesday: Updated with reference to a 2104 quake in the Westwood area, and an aftershock.

This post was originally published at 11:55 p.m. Monday