5.9 Magnitude earthquake in California

A strong earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale struck near the central California town of Parkfield on Tuesday, according to the US Geological Survey.

The quake occurred at 10:15 a.m. local time (18:15 GMT) Tuesday,11 kilometers south of Parkfield. The hypocentral depth is 8 kilometers, the US Geological Survey said.

The quake was felt as far north as San Francisco and the California state capital of Sacramento.

A series of aftershocks quickly rattled the area, one with a preliminary 5.0 &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/region/2001/10/10/17626.html' target=_blank>magnitude four minutes after the main &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/world/2002/07/11/32286.html' target=_blank>earthquake and three others 4.1 or above, reports Xinhua.

"The center of the earthquake wasn't that deep," Catherine Puckett, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Geological Survey, said in a telephone interview. "It occurred just 17 miles from Paso Robles, which is where another earthquake struck in December that killed several people."

The December quake struck along the state's central coast, killing two people and damaging property including Hearst Castle in San Simeon. Officials in the affected region said they had received no word of &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/economics/2000/11/21/1047.html' target=_blank>damage from today's incident, informs Bloomberg.