Californians used to life with threat of 'The Big One'

(CNN) -- Californians are no strangers to earthquakes, but Tuesday's tremor in the Los Angeles metropolitan area was an unsettling experience for both long-time residents and newer arrivals.

For some, the event had an element of thrill.

When iReport contributor John Carroll moved to Hollywood from Switzerland in 2005, he was haunted by photos of collapsed overpasses from California earthquakes in years past.

The fear made him drive a little faster under bridges, but Carroll said it's not a feeling he dwelled on for long.

"You kind of learn not to think about that anymore. You train yourself that this is Los Angeles, and this is the way it is," Carroll said. iReport.com: Carroll reacts to his first earthquake

He has experienced minor quakes since moving to California -- ones he compared to the sensation of big truck driving by -- but Tuesday's earthquake was like nothing he had been through before.

"The ground starts really moving up and down, and I've got an old TV sitting on the floor, and the thing started rattling like it was pushed off the ground," Carroll, 37, recalled.

"Then the walls started doing this weird kind of wavy thing like I've never seen it do before. And the ceiling started to really creak."

When books started falling off shelves, Carroll ran for the doorjamb of his second-story apartment. He said the shaking lasted about 15 seconds.

Though frightening, the magnitude-5.4 earthquake caused no serious damage or injuries. Its epicenter was about 2 miles southwest of Chino Hills and about 5 miles southeast of Diamond Bar. Watch as the quake strikes during the taping of a TV show »

The quake was considered by the U.S. Geological Survey to be "moderate," which can cause slight damage to buildings and other structures. This year, 39 "moderate" earthquakes of between magnitude 5.0 and 5.9 have occurred in the United States and 790 globally.

However, scientists believe that a major quake -- the feared "Big One" -- will strike California within the next few decades.

There is a 99 percent chance of the state experiencing a quake of magnitude 6.7 or larger in the next 30 years, according to the Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast, sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey, the California Geological Survey and the Southern California Earthquake Center and published in Science Daily in April.

It's a chance many Californians are willing to take.

"I don't think I'd leave L.A. because of earthquakes," Carroll said. "I like L.A. so much; it's too much fun to be here. But I do know [The Big One] is a possibility."

But Carroll said he had mixed feelings about Tuesday's seismic event.

"It was scary; I can't image what it would be like to be [higher in magnitude] than that. It was the worst I've experienced," he said.

"[On the other hand,] it was actually kind of fun. It was like, I've always heard about these things, and now I get to see one. Of course, it wasn't really a bad one. It probably would have been a different experience if the ground was throwing me off my feet."

California native Michael Fisher observed a similar reaction among the state's newer residents. Fisher was one of the first people to share his story with iReport.com.

"They kind of seem like they're euphoric. They're excited by it but scared," Fisher said. "It's kind of sick in a way. They [think,] 'Oh, wow, that was so cool.' "

Fisher, 48, was in a meeting with clients at an office building in Orange, California -- about 24 miles from the epicenter of the quake -- when the tremor struck. He described hearing a bang and feeling as if the building had dropped several feet.

Fisher immediately ran for the door.

"I'm the biggest panicker. I never want to be in a building," he said.

"I've seen the bad ones where freeway overpasses collapsed and the houses fell down, and I just don't want to be inside. I prefer to be outside. I think it's easier to dodge a light pole than it is to dodge a building collapsing."

His next immediate concern was his house in Diamond Bar, just a couple of miles from the quake epicenter. After a tense one-hour ride home, Fisher found the home standing but the second story flooded. The quake had knocked one of his wife's perfume bottles off a shelf and into a toilet bowl, which cracked and sent water into the home.

For Fisher, the occasional shaking is a fact of life.

"California is a very busy state, and we lead very busy lives ... so for those of us who've been here all our lives, it's not like we sit around talking about earthquakes. They happen, we live with it," he said.

"When the Big One comes, my only hope is I'm away from tall buildings and I'm outside." Watch why Tuesday's quake may be a sign of bigger ones to come »

All About Los Angeles • U.S. Geological Survey