Magnitude 4.5 earthquake rattles Southern California

FOX 11 / CNS) - At least two earthquakes -- one of them capable of causing moderate damage -- rocked an area of Riverside County near Banning Tuesday and was felt in Los Angeles about 90 miles from the epicenter.

The bigger temblor struck with a 4.5 magnitude at 4:49 a.m. at a depth of eight miles, its epicenter 6 miles south-southeast of Mt. San Gorgonio and 8 miles north of Cabazon, according to a computer-generated report from the U.S. Geological Survey. Two minutes later, a magnitude-3.2 quake was recorded in the same area.

There were no immediate reports of damages or injuries even though the quake was felt over a wide are of Southern California, including in Los Angeles around 90 miles to the west of the epicenter, according to residents who contacted the editorial headquarters of City News Service on L.A.'s Westside.

Within 40 minutes of the bigger quake, more than 6,700 people had reported on the official USGS website having felt it. According to a map based on those reports, the quake was felt as far north as Santa Clarita and Palmdale in northern Los Angeles County, and as far south as Tijuana, Mexico.

On Twitter, users from across Southern California reported being jolted awake. A woman in Pico Rivera in southeast L.A. County tweeted: "Wow the earthquake was all the way in Banning, I thought it was here.''