A magnitude-5.1 earthquake centered near La Habra in northern Orange County struck at 9:09 p.m. Friday and was felt in San Diego County.
The U.S. Geological Survey originally estimated the quake to be a magnitude-5.3. Two minutes after it occurred, a 3.4-magnitude quake struck again in La Habra.
Several small aftershocks followed in La Habra and neighboring Brea, according to the Geological Survey.
The magnitude-5.1 quake was felt throughout Southern California. Besides San Diego County, it was felt in Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
About an hour before it hit, at 8:03 p.m., a magnitude-3.6 quake occurred in La Habra, about 20 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
Broken glass, gas leaks, a water main break and a rockslide were reported near the epicenter, according to Twitter updates from local authorities.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said it was looking for signs of damage or injuries.
Callers to KNX-AM reported seeing a brick wall collapse, water sloshing in a swimming pool and wires and trees swaying back and forth. One caller said he was in a movie theater lobby in Brea when the quake struck.
"A lot of the glass in the place shook like crazy," he said. "It started like a roll and then it started shaking like crazy. Everybody ran outside, hugging each other in the streets."
A helicopter news reporter from KNBC-TV reported from above that rides at Disneyland in Anaheim — several miles from the epicenter — were stopped as a precaution.
Tom Connolly, a Boeing employee who lives in La Mirada, the next town over from La Habra, said the 5.1 quake lasted about 30 seconds.
"We felt a really good jolt. It was a long rumble and it just didn't feel like it would end," he told The Associated Press by phone. "Right in the beginning it shook really hard, so it was a little unnerving. People got quiet and started bracing themselves by holding on to each other. It was a little scary."
Friday's quake hit a week after a pre-dawn magnitude-4.4 quake centered in the San Fernando Valley rattled a swath of Southern California. That jolt shook buildings and rattled nerves, but did not cause significant damage.
Southern California has not experienced a damaging earthquake since the 1994 magnitude-6.7 Northridge quake killed several dozen people and caused $25 billion in damage.
