After the flood, the earthquake

An earthquake rocked much of flood-ravaged southern California early Monday, awakening thousands of people and possibly starting at least one house fire, but apparently causing no injuries. Technicians at the Caltech Seismological Laboratory said the quake, registering 5.1 on the Richter scale, hit at 2:47 a.m., Pacific time. Its epicenter was near Lake Hemet, about 80 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, the Army Corps of Engineers has moved in to help hundreds of residents who have fled homes along Lake Elsinore -- which was edging up an inch an hour from the steady weekend flow of runoff water. The rest of storm-soaked southern California was drying out through the weekend with sunshine and temperatures nudging 80 degrees, but residents of Lake Elsinore were still facing rising floodwaters.