MALIBU, Calif. (KABC) — A 4.7 magnitude earthquake struck the Malibu region on Thursday, the 14th 4.0 magnitude earthquake to hit Southern California this year. It was the strongest since 1988.

“We’ve had it for a few years now, but we’re getting a few of these warnings now, so people are getting used to it,” said Dr. Allen Husker, a seismologist at Caltech.

While many people think that smaller earthquakes reduce the chance of a big earthquake, Husker says that’s not quite how it works.

“There’s no way to light the big ones, unfortunately,” he said. “Really, the big ones are so much bigger that you would need hundreds or thousands of these little ones to really equal that big one, and we’re just not doing it … there’s not enough.”

The predominance of smaller earthquakes can actually have the opposite effect.

According to Husker, seismic models show that Southern California is long overdue for “the big earthquake,” and smaller earthquakes often point to larger earthquakes.

“Every earthquake increases the chance of another earthquake of the same magnitude or larger,” he said.

Thursday’s quake struck closest to the Malibu fault, but also near the Anacapa fault. Earthquakes below magnitude 5.0 are too small to be definitively associated with major faults mapped on the Earth’s surface.

The quake struck at around 7:28 a.m. at a depth of nearly six miles. It was initially recorded as a 5.1, but was quickly downgraded. Several aftershocks struck the area over the next hour, including a 3.4 at around 8:40 a.m.

There are no reports of injuries or other damage. Of course, preparation should always be your plan for when a major earthquake strikes.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.