A 4.4-magnitude earthquake shook the Los Angeles area on Monday morning , jolting some people awake just before sunrise but bringing no immediate reports of serious damage . The quake , centered about 6 miles north-northwest of Westwood and about 15 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles , happened at 6:25 a.m. , the U.S. Geological Survey said . `` I sort of sat up in bed , waited a second , then put my head down for a bit . I was n't really afraid , '' a man walking his dog in downtown Los Angeles less than an hour after the quake told CNN affiliate KTLA . He did n't provide his name . CNN 's Alan Duke said he was half awake in his Hollywood Hills home when he felt a jolt that lasted a few seconds . `` It just served as a rude awakening , '' Duke said . `` The sliding-glass doors were just rattling like somebody had slammed into them . Nothing fell off the walls . '' The USGS 's online ShakeMap showed that strong to moderate shaking would have been felt near the epicenter , with lighter vibrations felt in Los Angeles proper . Geophysicist Paul Caruso said that significant damage or casualties generally would n't be expected with earthquakes weaker than a 5.5 magnitude , though results vary by region , often depending on construction codes and types of rock that exist underground . At least six aftershocks followed the quake Monday morning , the strongest of which was a magnitude 2.7 , said Egill Hauksson , a California Institute of Technology seismologist . Measuring the magnitude of earthquakes . The place where two earthquakes hit every hour .
Los Angeles resident : `` I sort of sat up in bed , waited a second , then put my head down '' Quake happened at 6:25 a.m. , before sunrise . It was the first time that I had ever seen it happen