Quake Causes More Uncertainty Than Damage

Sunday's 7.2 magnitude earthquake, centered around Mexico's Baja California peninsula, had a minor though noticeable impact on Manhattan Beach and surrounding communities.

"It looked like a wave from one of those water park wave pools," said Brad Zint, who was staying in the Comfort Inn along Sepulveda Blvd at 9th Street on Sunday. He described the most visible aspect of the quake as a succession of waves in the motel's swimming pool, which lost several inches of water in a matter of minutes.

"It spilled out down into the bottom-level rooms around it," said Zint, a local editor for Hermosa Beach Patch. "I've never seen a pool receive such a powerful force. Nobody doing a cannonball could've replicated the earthquake's ability to spew that many gallons out."

Hermosa Beach Police closed the city's pier shortly after the quake and Hermosa Beach Fire Department crews responded to some hydrant breaks.

But over at the Manhattan Beach Fire Department stations, the phone lines stayed quiet for the most part following the shaker, with many residents unsure of what even happened.

"We just got some calls [from residents] wanting to know if there was one," said Batallion Chief Frank Chiella of the quake's local impact.

The earthquake struck around 3:40 p.m., according to an L.A. Times report, and lasted about 35 seconds. It was followed 16 minutes later by a 3.9 Borrego Springs-centered quake, as well as a magnitude 4.1 aftershock six miles southwest of Malibu in the Pacific Ocean.

Two people have been reported killed and several injured from the intial tremblor in the border towns of Calexico and Mexicali.