Week in Review : MAJOR EVENTS, IMAGES AND PEOPLE IN ORANGE COUNTY NEWS : COUNTY : Quakes and Thunderstorm Shake Rattle and Roll With Little Damage

Orange County residents, in the words of an old rock ‘n’ roll standard, got “all shook up” when an earthquake off the coast of northern San Diego County hit early last Sunday. There was little damage, however, in Orange County.

Another rumbler, centered in Palm Springs and measuring 4.6 on the Richter scale, struck July 10. The aftershock was the largest since the July 8 quake that shook Palm Springs and measured 5.9. The quake caused nearly $6 million in damages and was felt in Orange County.

Last week, anti-nuclear-energy forces again questioned the safety of the San Onofre power plant just south of San Clemente.

“Putting a nuclear power plant on a major fault line is not wise,” said Marion Pack, director of the Orange County chapter of the Alliance for Survival.

Southern California Edison Co. officials dismissed the renewed criticism. They said the San Onofre plant is safe and built to withstand a quake of a magnitude of 7.0. The earthquake off Oceanside last Sunday was measured at 5.3 on the Richter scale.

To add to local jitters, a rare thunderstorm jolted Orange County last Tuesday.

At 2 a.m., county residents were startled by peals of thunder and flashes of lightning.

The weather show, however, was just a flash in the pan. Only between .02 and .04 inches of rain came from the noisy clouds.

“It was enough to wake you up, especially after being shaken out of bed twice by earthquakes,” said Tim Dorsey, chief of Seal Beach lifeguards.