THE US: At least one person died when a powerful earthquake rocked California from Los Angeles to San Francisco yesterday, destroying buildings in a coastal town.
The first known fatality was in Paso Robeles where buildings collapsed in the town centre.
Power supplies were knocked out over a wide area and the tremor was felt in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Initial reports also indicated minor damage and some workers injured at a wine-making plant.
The quake, which struck at 11:16 am local time, was felt as a sustained but gentle rolling motion in central Los Angeles.
In San Francisco, it rocked the 20-storey federal courthouse, with its upper floors swaying for about 30 seconds.
The United States Geological Survey gave it a preliminary magnitude of 6.5 and said it was centred north of the coastal town of Cambria.
Cambria is in San Luis Obispo County, about 185 miles northwest of Los Angeles and an equal distance from San Francisco. The county has a population of around 250,000.
"It was pretty sharp," said Ms Sharyn Conn, receptionist at the seaside Cypress Cove Inn in Cambria.
"It really went on and on. I just got everyone under the door frames and rode it out." The site is only a few miles from San Simeon, castle home of legendary newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, who died in 1951. The popular tourist attraction was evacuated as a precaution but reported no major damage.
The quake struck on a series of faults that run parallel to the infamous San Andreas Fault, said Ms Lucy Jones, scientist in charge of the US Geological Survey office in Pasadena.
It probably ruptured along roughly 20 miles of a yet-unknown fault, Ms Jones said.
"It's luckily on the coast - there is not very much nearby. That's a good thing," Ms Jones said.
The San Andreas Fault goes through San Francisco and was responsible for the devastating 1906 earthquake which destroyed the city.
The USGS listed several smaller quakes in the same area in the minutes following the tremor, the largest magnitude 4.7.
Sgt Pete Hodgkin of San Luis Obispo County sheriff's department, said damage reports were trickling in.
"It's the usual stuff, broken glass and stuff. Haven't heard anything serious," Sgt Hodgkin said.
"Some people are hurt at the Wild Horse Winery, some wine barrels fell over.
"It felt like a big one, like the San Francisco earthquake years ago. The lights went out. We're on emergency power here," Sgt Hodgkin added.
Mr John Nelson, a spokesman for Pacific Gas and Electric, said approximately 10,000 homes and businesses were without power in the San Luis Obispo area. - (AP)