Earthquake Rattles Los Angeles, Twitter Buzzes Back With Meme

Image: Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

Shortly after Los Angeles residents had their evening interrupted Friday by a 5.1 magnitude earthquake, many fired up their Twitter accounts, sharing comments and photos that showed the effects of the brief jolt.

Most of the images that were shared online focused on damage done to retail locations, some of which included rows of destroyed merchandise, and inventory strewn all over store aisles. Aside from the chaos, however, the stores appeared to be fine.

Lots of wasted wine , damage from #LAquake at an Albertson store in La Mirada, Ca http://ift.tt/1fyGO1u

- Phil Doudar (@PDoudar) March 29, 2014

#LaHabraQuake: Towngate Beauty Supply http://ift.tt/1hKh6Yo

- Julie Sone (@JulieSone) March 29, 2014

What was your reaction to last night's #earthquake? http://t.co/SK5WU2U8To #LaHabra #LAquake http://ift.tt/1jI3mEp

- Pasadena Star News (@PasStarNews) March 29, 2014

Fortunately, damage in private homes seemed to be limited to fallen bookshelves and other household items.

My sister's house in #LaHabra #earthquake #losangeles http://ift.tt/1hKh6Yy

- Maria (@MBeckWeHo) March 29, 2014

I hope my insurance covers my Mexican candy losses.. #lahabra http://ift.tt/1jI3nYV

- Jake Walz (@Jcwalz) March 29, 2014

Although there were reports of broken water mains and power outages, damage to the area was minor.

In a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor, the earthquake inspired a #wewillrebuild hashtag meme on Twitter, which seems to be commenting on the outsized reactions to a quake that caused little discernable damage.

#earthquake #LaHabraQuake #damage #earthquakedamage #lahabra #whittier http://ift.tt/1hKh7eW

- Rachel Slur (@RachelSlur) March 29, 2014

Earth quake hits Los Angeles areaPicture of major damage #prayforLa http://ift.tt/1jI3mV2

- Captain$alty (@BasedChiink) March 29, 2014

Despite locals' flippant response to Friday's jolt, California has a 99.7% chance of experiencing a 6.7 magnitude or larger earthquake in the next 30 years, and a 46% chance of a 7.5 magnitude earthquake within the same period, according to the Southern California Earthquake Center.

For some perspective on what that could mean for Los Angeles, consider that the 7.8 magnitude earthquake of 1906 in San Francisco resulted in 3,000 deaths and $524 million in property damage.

A seismologist from the U.S. Geological Survey told the Los Angeles Times that the quake has 'a 5% chance of being a foreshock of an even larger quake.'

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