Landslides and wildfires hit California after nine earthquakes rock US state

Parts of California including some of Los Angeles have been hit by a 3.7 magnitude earthquake.

The earthquake struck the Malibu area of California late on Friday at around 11.44pm, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

The quake was also felt in surrounding areas more than 20 miles away including Thousand Oaks, Oxnard, Simi Valley, Ventura and parts of Los Angeles.

So far, there has been no reports of any injuries or damage as a result of the earthquake.

The USGS said that this is just one of nine earthquakes that have hit California since Thursday.

The strongest one recorded was a 4.3 magnitude that hit just north of Avenal on Thursday afternoon.

Other earthquakes were also recorded near Hayward in California’s Bay Area on the same afternoon.

Two of these earthquakes struck within two minutes of each other and all three occurred along the Hayward fault line.

This is known to be an active fault in the San Francisco Bay region and these earthquakes had magnitudes of 3.2, 3.3 and 2.6 respectively.

The news comes after Los Angeles was battered with landslides from an ‘atmospheric river’ this week.

An atmospheric river is a long and narrow section in the air that transports water vapour outside of the tropics and they often release vapour in the form of rain or snow.

Large debris flows left many streets inaccessible, including Mulholland Drive in Santa Monica and others in the Palisades.

The flood warnings lasted into yesterday afternoon but the same communities are still grappling with the devastating wildfires from January.

Areas impacted by wildfires are more prone to debris flow because vegetation, which helps keep soil in place, has been replaced with loose rocks, ash and dirt.

The inferno was the worst in the city’s history and ravaged many areas including Eaton and Palisades.

Firefighters were unable to contain the infernos that spread though many acres of the city.

At the time, the flames were exacerbated by hurricane-force 80mph gales – and the fact that parts of the LA county have not seen any rain in months.

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