Colin Atagi, and Sherry Barkas

The Desert Sun

A magnitude 5.2 earthquake near the San Jacinto fault jolted Southern Californians awake early Friday.

The earthquake occurred at 1:04 a.m., according to early information from the United States Geological Survey.

The temblor was centered in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park -- about 15.5 miles southwest of La Quinta.

Dozens of aftershocks followed as well, as are to be expected following a decent-sized quake.

There were no major injuries or damage reported, minus some fallen products at various stores. "We've had no calls," La Quinta Fire Capt. Anthony Khatami at Station 32 said.

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The San Jacinto fault is one of Southern California's most active, seismologist Lucy Jones pointed out on Twitter following the initial quake on Friday. She also calmed some nerves when saying quakes on the San Jacinto fault have never triggered an earthquake on the nearby San Andreas fault, which is more than 150 years overdue on its southern end that starts at the Salton Sea and heads northeast through the Coachella Valley. The two faults run nearly parallel through the valley.

The quake and aftershocks were about 6 miles deep, according to the USGS.

“Every earthquake has a 5 percent (chance) of triggering an aftershock that is bigger than itself – always within a few miles of location of the first earthquake,” Jones wrote.

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Many who experienced the temblor immediately took to social media.

"Oh dear Lord that's the worst freakin' earthquake I've felt in the 7 years we've lived here. Lasted too long! Can't tell if it's still shaking or I'm still shaking," Helen Holdun of Palm Springs wrote on The Desert Sun's Facebook page. "Neighbors actually gathered outside. My neighbors don't gather often."

Victoria Garcia wrote: "I felt it in Palm Desert! Things fell in the kitchen, cabinets opened and pictures moved on the walls!"

Sara Alonzo of Indio posted a photo from inside the Walmart in La Quinta, showing items knocked off store shelves by the quake.

"I was in Palm Desert when the earthquake happened but then after that, I stopped by Walmart at La Quinta and all the employees were outside when I got there and they had a couple of aisles closed," she told The Desert Sun.

Anthony Montenello, a server at Louise's Pantry in La Quinta, said nothing was out of place when he arrived at the restaurant on Washington Street on Friday morning.

"I walked in here and everything's fine," he said.

La Quinta Mayor Linda Evans, who lives in the cove, said "It was pretty loud and strong, but short."

Friday's noteworthy quake comes nearly 24 years after the magnitude-7.3 Landers quake that shook the high desert and Southern California on June 28, 1992.

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