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Hurricanes in Florida, Texas and the Caribbean; record-high temperatures in San Francisco; and wildfires in the Pacific Northwest.

And last night, a 3.6-magnitude earthquake a few miles away from Westwood, Calif., a neighborhood in Los Angeles near Bel Air, Calabasas, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica. “Earthquakes like this happen several times a year, so it’s not uncommon at all,” said John Bellini, a geophysicist at the United States Geological Survey’s National Earthquake Information Center.

You wouldn’t know it from the reactions on social media. After the earthquake struck at 11:20 p.m. local time, tremors erupted across Los Angeles Twitter.

The Geological Survey rated the shaking felt in the center and nearby as light and moderate (“vibrations similar to the passing of a truck” and “pendulum clocks may stop”) and did not expect significant damage. “Maybe a tall vase being knocked over,” Mr. Bellini said.

Some Los Angeles residents took the opportunity to reach out to their loved ones.

Others … did not.

Earthquake veterans took the matter lightly.

But at least one person was there to let the rest of the world know: Earthquakes are no joke.