Magnitude 5.3 earthquake felt in Santa Clarita Valley

Several Santa Clarita residents felt a brief, minor rumble Thursday for a 5.3 earthquake.

The earthquake hit about 35 miles southwest of Channel Islands Beach, according to the California Integrated Seismic Network.

A CalTech seismologist wasn’t surprised Santa Clarita residents felt the quake, considering it was a slightly larger than average quake, said Dr. Susan Hough, USGS seismologist.

However, she said the region will likely feel about 10 such incidents throughout the year and that the earthquake wasn’t necessarily a harbinger of the big one, which has been predicted for years in Southern California.

“I think the Magnitude 5.3 would have been felt in (the Santa Clarita Valley),” Hough said, “earthquakes like this— they’re not a daily occurrence, but they’re not uncommon.”

She added that historical data indicates that there’s about a 1-in-20 chance that something bigger will happen in the next three days. However, the chances of the aftershocks being larger than the original quake itself decrease dramatically as the potential size of the aftershock increases.

For instance, the odds that something as big as a 6.3 earthquake coming in the next three days decrease to 1-in-200, Hough added.

“There’s a much higher chance of (smaller) aftershocks,” she said. “There was just a 3.1 (magnitude earthquake).”

The Tsunami Warning Center stated that there is no tsunami danger at this time, according to a Tweet from the USGS.