4.3-magnitude earthquake strikes Inland Empire, shaking felt across SoCal

MUSCOY, Calif. (KABC) -- A 4.3-magnitude earthquake struck the Inland Empire Thursday morning, with shaking felt across Southern California.

That quake hit just after 9:30 a.m. in the Muscoy area at a depth of just over three miles, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. A few minutes later, a smaller 3.1-magnitude temblor shook the Rialto area nearby.

About an hour before that, the Rialto area saw two smaller quakes - magnitude 3.0 and 2.8. Experts say these were likely foreshocks.

WATCH | Caltech seismologist describes seismic activity after 4.3 IE quake

A 4.3-magnitude earthquake struck near the Fontana and Rialto areas Thursday, an area which experts say has seen similar activity in the last few years.

Dr. Gabrielle Tepp, a seismologist at Caltech, says the area where Thursday's quake hit is one that has seen similar sized quakes before.

"This is an active area... This area is also near where the San Jacinto fault, which is one of the major Southern California faults, comes up and meets the San Andreas. So this is an area where we see seismicity, especially the magnitude 4s."

There was last a magnitude 4 earthquake in the same area in January of last year, Tepp said.

People across a wide swath of Southern California felt Thursday's 4.3-magnitude earthquake. We spoke with people who felt in in Fontana, near the epicenter.

People reported feeling shaking in many areas including Jurupa Valley, Eastvale, Ontario and even as far as Redondo Beach. Most callers described it as a jolt or sudden movement.

"I felt it in Garden Grove, in my apartment on the 7th floor," Gregory Christison said on Facebook. "It was a rolling sensation."

Cindy Hecht Sedbrook said she was on the 11th floor of a building in Irvine when she felt the quake.

No damage or injuries were immediately reported.

MORE: What to know about earthquake alerts and MyShake app

Officials says after Thursday's earthquake, there were more than 20,000 downloads of the MyShake app in just three hours.

Thursday's SoCal quakes were not nearly as powerful as Wednesday's 8.8 magnitude monster earthquake in Russia, which triggered tsunami warnings in Hawaii and here along the West Coast. According to Caltech, Thursday's shakers is not related.

Caltech says more than 100,000 alerts were sent out over the Shake Alert app to cellphones.

ABC7 has compiled a list of items that are important to have in your earthquake kit so that you're prepared for "the big one."