Magnitude 3.9 earthquake strikes Southern California Thursday morning

Local reports noted that 13 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.0 or greater have occurred in Southern California this year.

LOS ANGELES – A magnitude 3.9 earthquake shook Southern California Thursday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The quake struck at 9:39 a.m. local time, with the epicenter located about 4 miles west of Lake Elsinore, which lies some 70 miles southeast of Los Angeles, and occurred at a depth of nearly 5.5 miles. The shaking was reportedly felt in parts of the Los Angeles metro area.

An aftershock with a magnitude of 3.0 shook the area less than a minute afterward.

This is the second earthquake felt in the Los Angeles area this week, with a magnitude 4.4 quake rattling the region on Monday at around 12:20 p.m. local time.

A report from FOX 11, citing seismologist Lucy Jones, noted that 13 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.0 or greater have occurred in Southern California this year.

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This number exceeds the average number of five earthquakes per year over the past 20 years in Southern California, but is closer to the average number of 4.0-magnitude quakes per year over the past 90 years.