Earthquake near Disneyland

[MidnTPK]

There was just an earthquake pretty close to Disneyland.

LOS ANGELES - A strong earthquake shook Southern California on Tuesday, causing buildings to sway and triggering some precautionary evacuations. No immediate damage was reported.

The jolt was felt from Los Angeles to San Diego, and slightly in Las Vegas.
Preliminary information from the U.S. Geological Survey estimated the quake at magnitude 5.8, centered 29 miles east-southeast of downtown Los Angeles near Chino Hills in San Bernardino County.

Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said there were no immediate reports of damage or injury in Los Angeles. San Bernardino County fire dispatch also had no immediate reports of damage.

The quake struck at 11:42 a.m. PDT. Buildings swayed in downtown Los Angeles for several seconds.

Workers quickly evacuated some office buildings.

"It was dramatic. The whole building moved and it lasted for a while," said Los Angeles County sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore, who was in the sheriff's suburban Monterey Park headquarters east of Los Angeles.

[2Epcot]

I live in Irvine about 15 miles from Disneyland, about 30 mies from the center of the quake. I was laying on the floor in one of the upstairs bedrooms of my home and the house shook quite a bit. The only thing I found were a few things knocked off the bookcase downstairs.

This was one of the largest quakes I've felt for a while since I've lived in CA. The first I felt since moving to Orange County about a year ago.

KABC-TV in Los Angeles just had a guest at Disneyland on the phone. They said Disneyland had evacuated all the rides as a precaution. He said they probably want to check everything out before they start operating again.

[TINKERBELL_82]

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A magnitude-5.8 earthquake has struck just east of Los Angeles, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The quake's epicenter was about 2 miles southwest of Chino Hills and about 5 miles southeast of Diamond Bar, the USGS said. Chino Hills is about 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.

The center was about 7.6 miles deep. In general, earthquakes centered closer to the Earth's surface produce stronger shaking and can cause more damage than those further underground.

A 5.8 magnitude quake is considered by the USGS to be "moderate," which can cause slight damage to buildings and others structures. About 500 can happen globally each year, the survey says.

CNN's Ed Lavandera was at Disneyland with his family and felt the temblor. He said the shaking lasted about 5 seconds.

There were no immediate reports of injury or damage in Los Angeles, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey told The Associated Press. San Bernardino County fire dispatch did not have reports of damage, AP said.

[Chescat]

We did a lot of rolling here at work, and it keep going on and on. It just seemed to keep going. I guess because it was a swallow quake, that's why we shook so long. Our phones are out right now, but its probably all the people calling.

So far seems like everybody is okay. In perspective, Disneyland is about 15 minutes away from the epicenter. Chino Hills is near Yorba Linda.

I have been through all the Southern California Quakes since I was born, so you never get used to this. I lived in the Valley in the '71 quake. :(

[Mousemates]

hope everything is well with our west coast intercoters...I guess the hurriance/humidity issue is our tradeoff for the ground not moving.

[vicster]

And our cold and snow in Chicago is a pretty good tradeoff! Earthquakes sound scary...hope everyone is safe and ok in Southern California.

[jrkcr]

This sounds crazy-but I thought I felt one this morning here in Reno around that same time! Then I decided I was maybe having shaky nerves from too much coffee.

But maybe I am psychically connected to Disney Land. :blush:

I hope everyone in DL is ok!!

[Paradise Pier Pinocchio]

Just read about the quake. Hope everyone is ok. Especially Mickey!

[MegaDisney]

This sounds crazy-but I thought I felt one this morning here in Reno around that same time!


The quake was felt as far away as Las Vegas so you may have felt it!

[DisneyFanaticDargon]

Being from Michigan, I am not used to quakes but OH MAN did this scare the bejeezus out of me. And this was only a moderate one too, I'd hate to imagine what a 6+ quake feels like. I live on the top floor of my apartment building and I think Chino Hills is only 20 miles away so we're pretty close to the epicenter.

It's my birthday too so...happy birthday to me from the state of California I suppose.

[MegaDisney]

Some information I found on another site:

Currently most attractions are back up and running...

Some major updates.

Monorail - Still closed, and expected to remain closed for the rest of the evening, pending inspection of the entire track.

Indiana Jones Adventure - will remain closed for the rest of the day, hopefully will reopen omorrow morning.

Maliboomer - Closed the rest of the day, waiting for inspection in the early morning. Hopefully at least 2 towers will be available Wednesday.

GRR- Just reopened, originally was going to be one of the attractions not opening at all today after the earthquake.

[Chescat]

I know after the Northridge quake it took them a while to get the Monorail track inspected and at the time the old People Mover/Rocket Rods track. The Big "A" in Anaheim stadium fell down on that one. Its good they take the time to inspect that track since its high up and its not worth taking any risks with park guests. I'm sure the People Mover track will be inspected very carefully also with it being over head.

[seanyred]

My wife and I were at DL in the Tiki Room during the quake. It happened during the opening song. They ended the show and had us leave the building. We had lunch and just hung out at the park until things started to reopen. The dark rides in Fantasy Land opened first and then by evening we were already on the Matterhorn. There was the longest line from City Hall almost all the way down Main Street, not sure if people were trying to get refunds or what?

Either way the DL cast members were great and while the rides were down it seemed more Characters were out to provide more entertainment. I guess if was going to experience a quake it would best to happen at the Happiest Place on Earth.

[Mickey'sGirl]

Well, we just got home tonight...

We were upstairs on the balcony at the Golden Horseshoe when the earthquake happened. The Billy's were just starting to demonstrate their dancing, and I said to my son "That's a cool effect"...then we saw the look of panic on the eyes of the performers, and we exited the building. We decided to leave Disneyland while everything was closed and being checked out. We went back to pool and returned later in the day to enjoyed the evening at the park. All in all, it was quite a moving experience ... and honestly, I was a bit nervous of any possible aftershocks that night. I lay awake in my 8th floor bed with our shoes lined up near the door and my wallet at the tip of my fingers.

[Jeff]

Well, we just got home tonight...

We were upstairs on the balcony at the Golden Horseshoe when the earthquake happened. The Billy's were just starting to demonstrate their dancing, and I said to my son "That's a cool effect"...then we saw the look of panic on the eyes of the performers, and we exited the building.

Wow! What a small world we live in. My family was also at the Horseshoe when the quake hit. We were on the main floor near the stage, 2nd "row" of tables near the serving windows. That old building was shaking and rolling like crazy, I bet the feeling in the balcony was much worse. I am still amazed by the utter lack of communication by the staff of Disneyland. If one did not go and talk to a higher level CM you knew nothing about procedures for closing and reopening attractions.

I did talk to one family who said they were on the "Nemo subs" when the quake hit and they were kept unmoving for 30minutes while the ride was checked out. Now that would have driven me crazy!!!!!

[BrerGnat]

Sorry for the late post, but we were ON the monorail when the quake hit! We were actually on the old monorail Purple, just pulling into the Downtown Disney station, about to disembark, and the shaking started. My husband and I each had a kid by the hand as well as a stroller each, and we were trying to step off the monorail (our kids are 2 and 4) and the gap between the train and the platform kept getting narrow, then wide, then narrow, and we were like "what is going on", and we didn't know whether to stay on the train or get off, or what. I actually thought there was something wrong with the train (like a stuck door or something that was making it shake). My DH was like "is this an earthquake?...This is an earthquake!!!". That was followed by an announcement by the CM on the platform about "tremor activity" and asking everyone to evacuate the monorail and the platform as quickly as possible. So, we basically scooped up the kiddos and got out of there. It was all very organized, and mainly, the people were very calm about it. We heard the CMs telling people that everything in the parks would be closed (attractions) for 1-2 hours while they inspected everything, which ended up being fine with us, as we were on our way home anyway.

This was the biggest earthquake I've felt since I moved to southern CA 8 years ago, and it really wasn't that bad at all. I'm glad it wasn't worse, as we were not in the best place to be with small kids during a big quake...