Sunday's earthquake jolted millions of people from as far away as Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas and Phoenix, Arizona. Most of the damage and injuries were centered in and around the Mexican border city of Mexicali, where at least two people were reported dead and around 100 injured.

The quake left a scene of destruction in Mexicali, the capital of Baja California state located 60 kilometers (38 miles) from the epicenter, with toppled buildings, cracked roads, ruptured water canals, downed telephone polls and power outages.

An untold number of homes, offices and hospitals were also damaged.

A man was killed when his home collapsed on top of him, Mexican rescue workers told AFP.

Another man died when he was crushed by a falling wall in Mexicali, Baja California Governor Jose Guadalupe Osuna said.

With no immediate reports of injuries and only limited damage, residents of California, Arizona and Nevada in the United States meanwhile breathed a sigh of relief.

Though the quake was the largest to affect southern California in years, it was not nearly as strong as the massive earthquake seismologists have predicted will inevitably hit the Golden State, possibly killing thousands of people.

But the worst may not be over yet, with experts warning another quake could hit in the coming days.

"Each earthquake we have triggers a chance for a bigger earthquake in the next few days," California Institute of Technology seismologist Lucy Jones told reporters.

Osuna declared a state of emergency in Mexicali, a major metropolitan hub of 900,000 inhabitants. Classes were suspended indefinitely.

"This is a large quake with the potential of causing damage because it is not far from a population center," said Carlos Valdez, director of the National Seismological Service.

A firefighter at a station just outside Mexicali told the Los Angeles Times that fires caused by the quake destroyed at least six homes after damaging propane tanks and severing electricity lines.

Several homes near the Cerro Prieto volcano some 31 kilometers (19 miles) from the quake's epicenter sank into the ground as water rose around them, according to the firefighter, Oscar Silas.

US and Mexican seismological services said the quake, which struck at 3:40 pm (2240 GMT), was shallow with a depth of just 10 kilometers (six miles). It was centered 26 kilometers (16 miles) southwest of Guadalupe Victoria in Baja California.

Dozens of reported aftershocks unleashed panic across the affected areas, interrupting Easter Sunday celebrations for some.

At least five of the aftershocks were strong ones, including a magnitude 5.4 temblor that struck near Guadalupe Victoria, southeast of Mexicali, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.

The major temblor was the third in as many months to strike the Americas -- a January 12 earthquake of magnitude 7.0 killed an estimated 230,000 people in Haiti and in Chile, a massive 8.8-quake on February 27 left an estimated 452 people dead in one of the most powerful quakes ever.

The Los Angeles Fire Department initially found no significant damage or injuries, although it responded to numerous automatic alarms and stuck elevators.

Rides were temporarily closed at the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California, according to the Los Angeles Times.

KABC television said high-rise buildings in Los Angeles and San Diego rocked back and forth when the quake hit and electric power poles shook.

"A little bit of everything" fell down every aisle of Fry's grocery store in Yuma, Arizona, manager Karla Favela told The Yuma Sun.

"The first thing I thought of -- have you seen the movie '2012?' The part when the grocery store splits in half?"

The USGS said the quake was felt as far away as Las Vegas, some 460 kilometers (290 miles) from the epicenter, as well as in Los Angeles, 360 kilometers (224 miles) away, and in Phoenix, 300 kilometers (186 miles) away.

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