Earthquake shakes southern California

An earthquake rocked the central coast region of California tonight and sent tremors across a wide area in the south of the state.

The quake, at around 11.16am local time (7.16pm Irish time), was felt as a sustained but gentle rolling motion in downtown Los Angeles.

The United States Geological Survey gave it a preliminary magnitude of 6.5 and said it was centred north of the coastal town of Cambria, which is about 185 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

The site is only a few miles from San Simeon, William Randolph Hearst’s castle. Calls to the castle did not immediately go through.

Tad Weber, managing editor of The Tribune in San Luis Obispo, about 30 miles southeast of Cambria, said he was in a meeting when “all of a sudden there was a jolting and we look up and see the building swaying. I dove under a desk to wait it out.”