Los Angeles quake felt 70 miles away

An earthquake shook the greater Los Angeles area, but there were no reports of serious damage or injury.

The quake yesterday had a magnitude of 4.2 and was centred about one mile south-southeast of West Hollywood, said Lucy Jones, scientist in charge of the US Geological Survey office in Pasadena.

It was a new quake, unrelated to any previous event.

The quake was felt in downtown Los Angeles where it rolled for about four seconds and shook the suburban areas.

The quake was felt 70 miles away and an estimated 10 million people probably felt it, Jones said.