Shallow 4.4-Magnitude Earthquake and Several Aftershocks Rattle Southern

A moderate natural disaster shook an inland area of Southern California near San Bernardino on Tuesday night, giving a start to thousands across a heavily populated area with more than one person comparing it to a rumbling big rig.

Neither U.S. nor Canadian officials have reported any injuries or significant damage, and the National Weather Service says there is no risk of tsunami along coastal regions.

The temblor occurred at 5:48 p.m.at a depth of 3.1 miles.

One B.C. resident said they thought a tree had fallen on the house.

The USGS website has recorded more than 10,000 reports of the quake being felt. So that makes the shaking not as strong as if it had been right up at the surface or very close to the surface. Alison Bird, a seismologist with the agency who lives in Victoria, said she was woken up by the shaking.

The Los Angeles city and county fire departments reported no immediate damage or injuries, although surveys of stations and personnel was ongoing.

It was rated as lightly felt across southwest B.C.by Earthquakes Canada.

After the quake hit, TransLink shut down the Millennium and Expo SkyTrain lines to determine whether any damage had been caused to the raised guideways.

The quake followed another that measured 4.4 and struck several hours earlier near San Bernardino, California.

The aftershocks registered 3.8, 2.7 and 3.2 southwest of Devore, according to the USGS.

BC Hydro did not report any power outages as a result of the quake.