US: A magnitude-4.5 offshore earthquake occurs off the southwest coast of California Jan. 15

A magnitude-4.5 earthquake occurred south of San Clemente Island off the southwest coast of California at around 02:44 PST Jan. 15. The epicenter was about 99 km (61 miles) south of Avalon, California. The tremor occurred at a depth of about 22 km (14 miles), and light shaking was probably felt throughout parts of southwestern California and northwestern Baja California in Mexico. There have been no initial reports of damage or casualties as a result of the earthquake, and significant damage is unlikely. It could take several hours until authorities can conduct comprehensive damage assessments, especially in remote areas. Light aftershocks are likely over the coming days. The event has not prompted any tsunami advisories.

Officials may temporarily shut down transportation infrastructure in the tremor zone to check for damage. Minor disruptions could occur during shutdowns, but service will likely resume quickly if no damage is found. Utility outages are possible, particularly near the earthquake's epicenter.