(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) A magnitude 5.1 earthquake centered at La Habra near Los Angeles rolled Southern California Friday evening. The strong earthquake was felt widely across the region shortly. The USGS said the epicenter was one mile from Brea, located about 20 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, and three miles from Rowland Heights and Fullerton. The quake triggered a rockslide that closed Carbon Canyon Road in northern Orange County near the center of the quake, the California Highway Patrol and Brea police reported. A broken water main in Fullerton, not far from the center of the quake, was attributed to the temblor, the Orange County Register reported in a tweet. The quake was felt as far south as San Diego and as far north as Ventura County, according to citizen responses collected online by The U.S. Geological Survey. It was followed by a series of smaller aftershocks over the next 45 minutes. The 5.1 quake was preceded by a 3.6 quake an hour earlier. The larger quake rattled bookshelves across the region, and police and fire officials said they were looking for any damage. Several people who live in the area near the quake posted pictures on social media showing broken glasses and dishes that tumbled from shelves or cabinets. Los Angeles Department of Public Works said it was sending crews to check dams, bridges and other infrastructure for damage. Callers to KNX-AM reported seeing a brick wall collapse, water sloshing in a swimming pool, and wires and trees swaying back and forth. U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones at CalTech in Pasadena told the Los Angeles Times that the 5.1 quake has a 5% chance of being a foreshock of an even larger quake. "There could be even a larger earthquake in the next few hours or the next few days," she said. Friday's quake hit a week after a pre-dawn magnitude-4.4 quake centered in the San Fernando Valley rattled a swath of Southern California. That jolt shook buildings and rattled nerves, but did not cause significant damage. Southern California has not experienced a damaging earthquake since the 1994 magnitude-6.7 Northridge quake killed several dozen people and caused $25 billion in damage
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