A 4.2-magnitude earthquake struck Westwood, California Sunday night local time leaving shallow tremors at the epicenter and nearby places, the U.S Geological Survey has reported. 

The quake hit at 7:36 PM with an initial strength of 3.8 magnitude west-northwest of Westwood.  Officials said there were no reports of injuries, property damage, or power outages as of writing, though aftershocks were felt across neighboring counties.

Residents of the commercial-residential neighborhood of Westwood immediately felt the ground shaking, which prompted Los Angeles Fire Department to deploy units.  Graphic designer Marina Brugal told Associated Press, "It was pretty strong.  At first, it was only a vibration, but then everything began to shake and the windows began to move."

Speculation surrounding the most recent Los Angeles geological activity suggested that the 4.2-magnitude quake was an aftershock of a larger 4.4-scale tremor which occurred in March.  However, analysts denied the allegation justifying that both epicenters were far from each other. 

USGS seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones tweeted, "The new location is deeper, so farther away from the stations. To create the same signal farther away, it must be bigger."  

Meanwhile, reports of aftershocks were recorded in the Pacific Palisades, Sherman Oaks, Santa Monica, Simi Valley, and Panorama City, according to NBC 4.

According to Department of Conservation, California has about 200 potentially hazardous fault lines with at least 70 percent of them lying under residential areas.  Jones cited 36 earthquakes with a minimum scale of 4 recorded since 1942.  On the other hand, The Guardian reported that water depletion in California may be increasing chances of earthquakes in the region due to additional pressure against the fault lines.

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist Paul Lundgren was featured in Nature stating, "The human effect is becoming the dominant effect.  The more you deplete that groundwater, the more you keep promoting that fault towards failure."