Major quake jolts northwestern Mexico: USGS

LOS ANGELES: A powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake rocked the arid northwestern Mexican state of Baja California near the US border, the US Geological Survey reported Sunday.

The quake, which struck at 2240 GMT, was at a depth of 32.3 kilometers (20.1 miles) and was located 26 kilometers (16 miles) south-southwest of Guadalupe Victoria, Baja California, Mexico, and 64 kilometers (40 miles) southwest of San Luis, in the US state of Arizona, the USGS added.

The temblor was forceful enough to move buildings in Los Angeles and San Diego in southern California, as well as in Arizona, The Los Angeles Times reported.

KABC Television in Los Angeles said high-rise buildings in that city and in San Diego rocked back and forth when the quake hit.

The report said Los Angeles City Fire Department crews were responding to people trapped in stalled elevators in the city, but there were no reports of serious damage, power outages or injuries in Los Angeles.

The USSG said it had reports that quake was felt as far away as Las Vegas, Nevada, some 460 kilometers (290 miles) from the epicenter as well as in Los Angeles, 360 kilometers away, and in Phoenix, Arizona (300 kilometers).