A 5.4 magnitude earthquake, the largest in Southern California since 1999, struck 35 miles east of Los Angeles city center on Tuesday morning. However, no reports of major injuries or damage have been registered.

The earthquake was centered near Chino Hills in San Bernardino County and was felt all across California and Nevada, perturbing authorities in San Diego and residents as far east as Las Vegas, according to officials.

As cited by the New York Times, Erik Pounders, a geologist with the United States Geological Survey in Pasadena, said that the tremor was moderate and that although it had been easily felt, it “wasn’t even powerful enough to knock everything off your desk.”

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared at a news conference in Los Angeles that the earthquake reminded California citizens that they should be prepared for almost anything.

Several schools and office buildings were provisionally evacuated as people were concerned about the aftershocks, one of which registered a 3.8 magnitude.

The tremor started off slowly at approximately 11:40 a.m. and continued for some disarming seconds, as reported by the New York Times. Many people endured alarming and awkward sensations of having swayed from side to side which are very usual in high apartment buildings retrofitted in order to resist earthquakes.

According to geologists, an earthquake able of producing extensive damage is 99 percent certain to hit California within the next 30 years.

What’s more, a study released previously this year reported that a 7.8 magnitude quake could kill 1,800 people, wound 50,000 more and damage 300,000 buildings.

A 6.7 earthquake that took place in Los Angeles 14 years ago claimed at least 60 deaths and caused an estimated 10 billion dollars damage, while a 6.9 quake in San Francisco in 1989 killed 67 people.