A Fox News journalist was praised by her colleague for her calm composure after an earthquake struck the Los Angeles area as she was reading a news report.
Newsweek has contacted Fox News for comment via email.
Why It Matters
The Southern California region sits atop the San Andreas Fault system, a network of faults that make earthquakes a regular occurrence.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recorded dozens of 2.5 magnitude or greater earthquakes on or around the fault line within a seven-day window.
Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images
What To Know
On Sunday, while reading a report on missing university student Sudiksha Konanki, correspondent Christina Coleman briefly stopped mid-sentence to let viewers know an earthquake had occurred. She then continued with her reporting.
Her cool composure during the incident was commended by anchor Jon Scott, who said Coleman was a “true professional.”
The quake occurred at 1:03 p.m. Pacific time about 7 miles southwest of Westlake Village, a city in the Conejo Valley region of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, at a depth of about 7 miles, data from USGS showed.
The initial reports suggested the earthquake had a magnitude of 4.2, but this was later revised downward to 4.1, The New York Times reported.
Although the event was a light earthquake, the tremor was felt widely throughout the Los Angeles metropolitan area, including Malibu and the San Fernando Valley. USGS’s Community Internet Intensity Map also showed that residents in Ventura County and parts of Orange County also reported feeling the earthquake.
“The M4.1 was widely felt in the L.A. region,” USGS said on social media. Many residents took to online platforms to describe a sudden jolt and a brief rumbling, with some reporting minor shaking of furniture.
What People Are Saying
Fox Journalist Christina Coleman said in her report: “University officials are in contact with her family as well as authorities in Virginia—I’m sorry, I think we just experienced a minor earthquake here as I was reading the script. Um, but yes, university officials are in contact with her family.”
Fox Report weekend anchor Jon Scott said following the report: “Christina, you once had a bear wander through your live shot. Now, you’ve got an earthquake in your live shot. You are a true professional. Good for you.”
The USGS Earthquakes account said on X, formerly Twitter: “A M4.1 earthquake occurred near Westlake Village, west of Los Angeles, shortly after 1pm PDT. It has been followed by a couple of aftershocks large enough to possibly be felt locally.”
What Happens Next
While Sunday’s earthquake did not result in any immediate reports of injuries or damage, it underscores the ever-present seismic risk in California. Experts have long warned that the Golden State is likely to experience a major earthquake—sometimes referred to as “the Big One”—in the coming decades.