SWARM OF QUAKES RATTLES L.A.

A swarm of small earthquakes shook the Los Angeles area early Monday and rattled the nerves of residents, many of whom were jolted awake by two of the stronger quakes.

A magnitude 4.0 earthquake was reported at 4:44 a.m. Monday near Inglewood, less than half an hour after two smaller foreshocks hit the same area.

The larger quake was felt across Southern California, including some areas of San Diego County. A magnitude 3.3 temblor that preceded it hit the same area at 4:15 a.m., while a magnitude 2.5 shaker struck at the same time about 2 miles away.

The main earthquake was centered near Prairie and Century boulevards. It occurred less than a mile from Lennox, less than a mile from Hawthorne and one mile from Los Angeles.

By 8 a.m., nearly 40 aftershocks had rattled the Inglewood and Lennox area, according to Paul Caruso, a geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center in Colorado.

The main shock was “pretty deep for California,” at about 12 miles down, he said, noting that quakes in the area are typically about three miles deep. Deeper earthquakes are felt less strongly on the surface.

“We cannot predict earthquakes, but certainly there will be more aftershocks,” he added.

Earthquake expert Lucy Jones said on Twitter that the magnitude 4.0 quake was strong enough to be “felt by most people awake in LA.” She added it was likely not on any mapped faults.

The foreshock and flurry of aftershocks occurred at about the same depth, Jones said.