6.4-magnitude quake hits Southern California: USGS
Los Angeles: A 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit Southern California on Thursday at 10:33 am (17:33 GMT) near the Searles Valley in San Bernardino County, the United States Geological Survey said.
The shallow quake struck at a depth of 5.4 miles (8.7 kilometers) in the vast desert region, lasting multiple seconds with residents as far away as Los Angeles saying they felt the tremor.
It is not yet clear if the earthquake caused major damage, but USGS seismologist Rob Graves said that "this earthquake is large enough that the shaking could have caused damage."
The San Bernardino County Fire Department reported no injuries on Twitter, but stated that "buildings and roads have sustained varying degrees of damage."
It added that there were multiple "buildings with minor cracks; broken water mains; power lines down; rock slides on certain roads. No injuries/fires."
"We will continue having a lot of aftershocks," CalTech seismologist Lucy Jones told a press conference, adding that dozens had already occurred and that some may be as strong as magnitude five.
Los Angeles International Airport said that runways were unharmed, with operations continuing as normal.
The city's police reported on Twitter that they had not "received any reports of damage or calls for service within the City of Los Angeles related to the #earthquake."
While California is the most-populous state in the US, the quake was located in a sparsely populated portion of the Mojave Desert.
Jones added that there is a small possibility that this quake was the prelude for a larger tremor.
"There is about a one-in-20 chance that this location will be having an even bigger earthquake within the next few days, that we have not yet seen the biggest earthquake of the sequence," she said.
Celebrities in Los Angeles were quick to react to the trembling.
"Been living in Los Angeles all my life," filmmaker Ava DuVernay wrote on Twitter. "That was the longest earthquake I've ever experienced. Not jerky. Smooth and rolling. But it was loooong.
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US Consulate in Dubai reportedly attacked
Dubai: Smoke was seen rising from an area near the United States Consulate in Dubai, according to witness accounts cited by Reuters.
There was no immediate official confirmation on the extent of damage or whether there were any casualties in the incident.
Earlier, the US embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital, was also attacked. Authorities reported damage to the premises, but no casualties were recorded.
The developments come amid heightened tensions in the region, with Iran continuing to target US interests in the Middle East following deadly attacks launched on Saturday by Israel and the United States.
Near US embassy in Dubai pic.twitter.com/z5VTZNVxNO
— Sahil Shah (@thesahilsshah) March 3, 2026
