When you consider the big picture these two (actually five) quakes in Los Angeles
are no big deal, as it's pretty much everyday stuff worldwide:
USGS Earthquake Tracker for Monday and Tuesday PDT (GMT -7) MAG UTC DATE-TIME
y/m/d h:m:s LAT deg LON deg DEPTH km Region
MAP 2.6 2012/08/08 23:27:16 38.833 -122.880 2.6 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.3 2012/08/08 22:42:12 -55.779 -26.095 20.1 SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION
>
MAP 2.6 2012/08/08 19:22:13 33.903 -117.784 8.7 GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIAMAP 4.9 2012/08/08 17:45:33 44.431 -128.639 10.0 OFF THE COAST OF OREGON
>
MAP 2.8 2012/08/08 17:36:26 33.904 -117.781 9.1 GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIAMAP 2.8 2012/08/08 16:59:25 52.685 -168.237 22.5 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
>
MAP 3.4 2012/08/08 16:51:04 33.901 -117.789 9.5 GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIA
>MAP 4.5 2012/08/08 16:33:22 33.904 -117.789 9.7 GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIAMAP 4.7 2012/08/08 16:14:05 -6.287 146.612 104.8 EASTERN NEW GUINEA REG, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 5.6 2012/08/08 14:05:19 54.980 -161.222 55.5 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 4.9 2012/08/08 12:08:19 -15.987 177.852 9.5 FIJI
MAP 5.8 2012/08/08 10:57:44 -16.041 178.141 12.3 FIJI
MAP 4.7 2012/08/08 10:09:17 -54.975 -27.725 9.2 SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.8 2012/08/08 09:43:17 52.719 -169.647 1.8 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.7 2012/08/08 09:12:38 62.376 -151.309 105.1 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 4.5 2012/08/08 09:00:45 -5.823 154.787 163.2 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 2.6 2012/08/08 08:50:45 40.128 -122.759 10.7 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.5 2012/08/08 08:35:14 -9.593 -75.566 93.6 CENTRAL PERU
MAP 3.3 2012/08/08 07:44:06 19.620 -67.925 34.0 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REGION
MAP 5.5 2012/08/08 07:11:03 25.882 125.037 135.0 SOUTHWESTERN RYUKYU ISLANDS, JAPAN
>
MAP 4.5 2012/08/08 06:23:34 33.907 -117.790 10.4 GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIAMAP 4.7 2012/08/08 05:57:21 48.118 146.378 486.3 SEA OF OKHOTSK
MAP 2.7 2012/08/08 02:56:56 41.160 -123.396 40.0 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
Notice: there were 8 earthquakes in the same time period that were larger in
magnitude than the L.A. quakes.
Note: the correct term to use is "magnitude" not "on the Richter Scale" because
the Richter Scale is obsolete for larger quakes and is only used for very small
ones anymore. To make it simple, seismologists have abandoned its use, and
you'll only hear it from reporters out of ignorance or a desire to appeal to the
audience and therefore sell copy.