One dead in California earthquake

At least one person died when a powerful earthquake rocked California from Los Angeles to San Francisco tonight, destroying buildings in a coastal town.

The first known fatality was in Paso Robeles where buildings collapsed in the town centre.

Power supplies were knocked out over a wide area and the tremor was felt in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The quake struck at 11.16am local time (7.16pm Irish time), said the United States Geological Survey, which gave it a preliminary magnitude of 6.5 and said it was centred north of the tiny coastal town of Cambria.

It was felt as a sustained but gentle rolling motion in downtown Los Angeles, about 185 miles to the southeast.

In San Francisco, about an equal distance away, the quake rocked the 20-storey federal courthouse and sent its upper floors swaying for about 30 seconds.

One person was killed in Paso Robles, said San Luis Obispo County emergency services co-ordinator Ron Alsop.

Firefighters searched debris along a block of collapsed buildings in the town of 25,000 about 20 miles east of the epicentre.

Cars were also crushed by the collapse.

The main shock was immediately followed by at least five aftershocks of magnitude larger than 3.3. The largest was estimated at 4.7.