5.2 Magnitude Earthquake Hits San Diego, California, Shakes Building

A 5.2-magnitude earthquake hit Southern California on Monday morning, causing tumbling onto rural roads near San Diego and making items shake off shelves. Even the elephants at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park rushed to protect their young ones. Fortunately, officials reported no injuries or major damage from the earthquake.

A video filmed at the park on Monday morning shows five African elephants enjoying the sun together. Suddenly, the camera shakes, and the elephants scatter in different directions. The older elephants quickly move to protect the two young calves.

The earthquake occurred at 10:08 AM local time (18.00 GMT), with its center located in the town of Julian, California.

Julian is a small resort town in the Cuyamaca Mountains, about an hour’s drive northeast of San Diego.

People felt the shaking as far away as Los Angeles County, about 120 miles away. After the main earthquake, several smaller aftershocks followed. Paul Nelson, who owns a historic gold mine in Julian, remarked, “I thought my windows were going to crack because they were shaking quite a bit, but luckily they didn’t.”

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported that smaller tremors followed the main earthquake in the area over the next hour.

At the same time, the National Weather Service said there was no tsunami risk.

Before the earthquake hit, emergency alerts from the USGS advised people to find shelter, suggesting residents as far away as Los Angeles take precautions.

About two hours after the earthquake, the San Diego sheriff’s office also said it had not yet “received any report of injuries or major damage caused by earthquake.”