As the first day of school Aug. 12 arrived, an unexpected earthquake occurred, reminding students of the past few earthquakes from this year and leaving them wondering about the possibility of more in the near future. 

“I was in my physics [class] and the whole room was shaking,” junior Radin Moosavi said. “My teacher was like, ‘What’s going on,’ and we were all really confused.”

During the fourth period, the 4.4 magnitude earthquake took place, taking many students by surprise. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), even though the earthquake was small, it was felt in the Greater Los Angeles Region to San Diego, including Woodland Hills. 

“At first I thought the shaking was from a bunch of kids running around,” junior Madelyn Rabaja said. “A lot of people in my class were getting up and moving around, so I didn’t realize it was an earthquake.”

Similarly, there was another small earthquake only about a week before school started. The 5.2 magnitude earthquake near Bakersfield, Aug. 6, was felt by students at home.

“That earthquake was terrifying,” junior Roman Moosavi said. “I was so scared and thought my house was going to crash down and collapse. I looked out my window and made sure everyone was okay, and luckily everyone was fine.”

Depending on where students were located at the time of the earthquake, they felt many different effects. Some students felt the strong shaking, while others hardly felt the earthquake at all. 

“I was in my bed when the last earthquake happened,” Rabaja said. “I barely felt it since it wasn’t so big.”

Many students are intrigued but also afraid of the idea of more unprecedented earthquakes. 

“I think earthquakes can be pretty interesting, since it’s fascinating that everything just shakes,” Radin Moosavi said. “It can get scary though, knowing that California has a lot of earthquakes.”