Strong Quake Jolts Pasadena, Water Line Ruptured Near City Hall

A strong earthquake centered along the South Pasadena-Highland Park border rattled Pasadena and the Southland today, causing a water line rupture at Pasadena City Hall and briefly trapping a person in an elevator, though no injuries were reported.

Derderian said the Pasadena Fire Department immediately went into “earthquake mode,” sending crews out across the city to examine critical infrastructure and check for damage to structures, buildings and other facilities.

According to City News Service, a water line ruptured as a result of the quake at Pasadena City Hall, and water could be seen pouring out of a pipe on the building’s exterior. There were reports of a person also being stuck in an elevator at the building, but there were no injuries reported.

City employees mostly evacuated the building but began going back inside around 1:15 p.m., according to CNS.

Pointing out that school has not yet restarted and students were not in class today, Pasadena Unified issued a statement saying all faculty, staff, and students on PUSD campuses evacuated their sites.

“As a precaution, we conducted a search of the buildings, and an all-clear has been declared. It’s been reported that there is no damage,” the District said.

PUSD regularly conducts emergency drills to prepare for earthquakes and other disasters.

The temblor hit just before 12:30 p.m., and was centered along the South Pasadena-Highland Park border, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. (USGS)

The magnitude was initially reported at 4.6, but was later reduced to 4.4.

According to Lucy Jones the quake struck along a buried fault eight miles underground, which makes the fault hard to identify specifically.

“This area has a network of buried faults,” Jones said. “The same network was involved in the 1987 Whittier Narrows Quake.

This is only a 4.5 earthquake, associating it with a particular fault is always going to be problematic.”

The fault system runs into Downtown Los Angeles making earthquakes along the system particularly dangerous due to older buildings downtown.

The earthquake was felt across a wide area of the southland spanning most of Los Angeles County and stretching into Orange County and even parts of Riverside County.

Jones said that many people felt the quake because of the size of the fault system.
Aftershocks are expected along the system. There is a less than 10% chance that a 5.0 quake will hit the system.

Metro alerted riders that trains throughout its transit system would be slowing down so tracks can be checked for any possible damage.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents Pasadena, said the quake reminded her of earlier temblors.

“Having lived through the Northridge earthquake, today’s tremor made me flashback to what we know are life-saving rules during an earthquake: drop, cover, and hold on. It was also a reminder to us all that we live in earthquake country and we need to be prepared.”

“I want to remind L.A. County residents who are feeling jittery after today’s quake to visit ready.lacounty.gov. You’ll find helpful tips and information on how to prepare and be ready for earthquakes and any other hazard that can impact our County.”