Southern California

Stronger quake rattles Southern California

It struck at the shallow depth of 0.9km (0.6 miles) and its epicentre was near the city of Ridgecrest, about 240km north-east of Los Angeles.

A 6.4 magnitude quake hit the same region on Thursday at a depth of nearly 11km.

As yet, there have been no reports of casualties or of major damage.

The Los Angeles Fire Department said nobody had been killed or injured. A statement after the latest quake said the authorities had seen "no major infrastructure damage" after a survey of the city.

Thousands evacuated in southern California

Several thousand homes are under mandatory evacuation in the cities of Ventura and Santa Paula, some 70 miles (115 km) north of Los Angeles.

Firefighters warned the fire was moving so fast they were unable to contain it.

Fanned by high winds, the fire swept through tens of thousands of acres in a matter of hours.

California Governor Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency in Ventura County, promising to attack the fire "with all we've got".