Just had an earthquake in Alameda County, CA

[avaistheone1]

Source: Me

It came fast, and went fast.

No link yet.

[CreekDog]

1. Must have been small and close then

I'm in Downtown SF and didn't feel it.

Fast usually means small.

[avaistheone1]

3. Glad you didn't feel it in SF.

Glad you are safe. My boyfriend is in SF working today - I hope he is safe too.

[dana_b]

51. I did feel it in SF

near the Richmond. Weird.

[avaistheone1]

2. No news stories on it yet.

And no aftershocks.

No rolling. Just two big lifting bangs.

[CreekDog]

4. 4.1 in Milpitas (near San Jose)

:hi:

http://quake.usgs.gov/recenteqs/Quakes/nc71336726.htm

[avaistheone1]

6. Thanks creekdog.

It was an odd one. Not the usual rolling feeling and buildup. Just a fast, pretty strong movement, twice - the second following the first really fast.

It was strong. I felt my house lift up. I ran for the doorway. :scared:

I hope this takes some pressure off the Hayward fault.

[CreekDog]

8. Maybe you felt the P and S waves separately

Glad it was small! :hi:

[kestrel91316]

28. That's how they feel when they're right underneath you. Ask me how I know, lol.

[avaistheone1]

31. Yikes!

Really? It felt like it was lifting my home in the air. It was like this big pop/bang from out of no where. Definitely not the smaller roll that builds and then recedes.

I better check out my place for damage, cracks etc.

[Warpy]

7. Close to a few of my cousins in the San Jose area

Nice to know they're still getting their teeth rattled once in a while.

It's payment for not putting up with the bitter cold I am right now in NM.

[Demeter]

9. It's a Foreshock on the Hayward Fault, Most Likely

I have been watching the pattern all up and down the Pacific Rim....be safe and prepared, Californians. January is a bad month for California.

[avaistheone1]

10. How can we confirm which fault line it was?

[Demeter]

16. The reports will be out in a week or so, if patterns hold

but that sucker is way overdue.

[avaistheone1]

21. That is what I understand.

I am hoping the best case scenario that this quake takes the pressure off the Hayward fault so that we don't have a major calamity later on down the line.

[xchrom]

15. Oh shit. -- well what are you gonna do? Nt

[Warpy]

27. Earthquakes here in NM are generally on the funny side

People get blank "what the hell was THAT?" looks on their faces for about five seconds and that's it. Ours also don't tend to travel the way they do back in New England or in California.

People here are amazed when I tell them we just had an earthquake and even more so when it's confirmed later on the news.

Living in California would drive me nuts.

[EFerrari]

37. None of the animals are freaking out.

Not the horses, the chickens across the way, or the goats or the dogs or the cats. So I'm going to assume they're not holding out on us. :)

[CrawlingChaos]

59. USGS thinks it's the Calaveras Fault

Just announced on our local news. I think it's yet to be officially confirmed but the spokesperson said it looks like it was the Calaveras.

[avaistheone1]

65. I hope those damns that sorely need to be repaired near the Calaveras fault

get repaired or we can look forward to our own Katrina in the area. This would be a good jobs programs for our government.

[avaistheone1]

12. Ouch.

:spank:

[EFerrari]

44. We're next door to Alum Rock. Thanks for the map!

[arcadian]

5. Just south of Fremont 4.2

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsus/Quakes/nc71336726.php

[xchrom]

11. I felt I'm in Oakland.

Wasn't much to it though.

[avaistheone1]

14. It was definitely stronger in my area.

I am closer to Milipitas and San Jose.

It felt like it was lifting my home right off its foundation.

[xchrom]

20. I know the sensation-- be careful out there. Nt

[CountAllVotes]

13. MAP 4.1 2010/01/07 10:09:35 37.477N 121.797W 9.0 10 km ( 6 mi) ENE of Milpitas, CA

http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/recenteqs/Quakes/quakes0.html

[avaistheone1]

17. I am curious does any of this tell us what fault line it was that caused the quake?

[Demeter]

24. Looking at this official map

http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/recenteqs/Maps/122-37.html

It sure looks like the Hayward fault, since it runs right through Fremont.

[CountAllVotes]

26. given the location

very likely the Hayward fault would be my best guess. It has been fairly dormant since its last major blow out in the late 1950s. A big quake on this particular fault line could be worse than the San Andreas fault going off is the fear.

How do they know anything about earthquakes? :shrug:

[CreekDog]

30. They consider that last big quake on the Hayward as 1868 not the 1950's

and that's why they think the Hayward is most due for another big one.

however, they think the Hayward is only capable of producing a 7.0-ish earthquake, while the San Andreas can produce 8+. However, the density in the immediate area of the Hayward means that it may produce the more devastating earthquake, compared to the other faults.

[CountAllVotes]

34. there was a huge one in the late 1950s

my father told me about it. It was pretty intense and he said that the streets looked like ocean waves. If he remembered it that well it must have been pretty rough, that is what this 5th generation San Franciscan has to say about it.

[CreekDog]

38. No that wasn't "huge". The last major earthquake on the Hayward was 1868

The largest earthquake in the Bay Area in the 1950's was actually in Daly City and was 5.7.

The Hayward fault had an earthquake in 2006 that was 5.6. Not major.

Major is closer to 7 magnitude.

[avaistheone1]

43. Dang. You are correct.

Many of us breathed a little easier after October 17, 1989. The Loma Prieta earthquake, 7.1 on the Richter scale, meant that the big one, talked about for decades, had finally happened. And, bad as it was, we had survived.

There are two things wrong with that. First, Loma Prieta was not the big one. It was a moderately big one, certainly destructive to some parts of the Bay Area, but nowhere near the size of the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Second, having an earthquake like Loma Prieta has little to do with the likelihood of having another one on a different fault, somewhere else in the area.

The inevitability of a damaging earthquake still confronts everybody in the Bay Area, and we still risk substantial damage. A new study, released in 2003 by the United States Geological Survey, says that there is a 62 percent chance of a M>=6.7 earthquake during the next 30 years and that the quake could strike at any time, including today. In other words, scientists think that a magnitude 6.7 or larger earthquake is nearly twice as likely to happen as not to happen. This is a substantial increase, since in 1988, scientists thought the chance for such an earthquake was 50 percent (just as likely to occur as not to occur) within 30 years.

The new report also says that the next one will most likely strike farther north than Loma Prieta, somewhere between San Jose and Santa Rosa on either side of the Bay. The epicenter of the October 1989 quake was in a sparsely populated area. The next one, according to the study, will likely be centered in a more populated area. During the Loma Prieta earthquake, shaking was so severe in the Santa Cruz Mountains that a van overturned, treetops snapped off, and many people were thrown to the ground. Because the next one is expected to strike closer to an urban area, it will cause much more damage.

http://quake.usgs.gov/prepare/future/index.html



Having lived through the Loma Prieta quake I hoped that would be the worst we would ever experience in the Bay area. Unfortunately not.

[CreekDog]

46. Not only that: Loma Prieta was centered in a rural area in the Santa Cruz mountains

so comparing a Loma Prieta with a similar size earthquake on the Hayward Fault, the Hayward one is likely to be devastating, while Loma Prieta was not nearly so.

[avaistheone1]

50. If that is the case the damns need to be fixed that service southern Alameda

County or we could have a scene that looks like Katrina on this president's or a future presidents hands.

Never mind building railroads to no where, our government needs to spend money on repairing critical infrastructure which is likely to fail if an serious act of mother nature strikes.

[EFerrari]

42. It was big enough that I remember it and I think I was three at the time.

All the grown ups looked pretty scared.

[avaistheone1]

36. There is alot of people, housing, hospitals and infrastructure near the Hayward fault.

The populaton is dense. There are also several damns which are not in good shape, and would flood the area if they are seriously damaged by an earthquake. Hundreds of thousands of people could be flooded from their homes. Just the beginning of the problems a major earthquake would cause on that fault. Not a good thing.

[EFerrari]

67. The fault runs right through Bear's Stadiaum at Cal.

My geology teachers used to say if you wanted to find a fault in CA, all you have to do it look for a major public facility!

[EFerrari]

32. Or Calaveras? We felt it really well up in the East SJ foothills. n/t

[avaistheone1]

39. Confirmation near junction of Hayward and Calaveras fault lines

Two earthquakes rattle Palo Alto
10:09 a.m. quake centered north of Milpitas; 1.6 magnitude quake follows


Two earthquakes struck the South Bay this morning, the U.S. Geological Survey is reporting. Centered east-northeast of Milpitas, the first had a preliminary magnitude reading of 4.1 and struck at 10:09, the second followed at 10:22 a.m. The quake was felt in Palo Alto as well.

Both followed another, 2.8 magnitude quake that occurred Wednesday night in the same area, near the intersection of the Calaveras and Hayward faultlines, David Oppenheimer of the Geological Survey told KCBS radio.

He cautioned residents not to fear that the quakes are foreshocks of a larger temblor.

"Not every magnitude 4 earthquake is followed by a magnitude 8 earthquake," Oppenheimer said.

Thursday's first earthquake had a depth of 5.6 miles. It was centered about 6 miles east-northeast of Milpitas and 11 miles north-northeast of San Jose City Hall.

http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=15176

[EFerrari]

41. Yikes. I need to go look at a map.

Thanks. The animals are quiet, snoring in fact, so hopefully that was it. An arm of the Hayward fault runs right through the ranch. An arm -- is that the right term? A leg? A piece? lol

[CrawlingChaos]

55. I'll bet you're right - Calaveras

It's been very active in recent years (anyone remember that big Halloween earthquake on the Calaveras in '08?). We sure felt this one here in Campbell.

[EFerrari]

56. We're next door to Alum Rock, about 7 miles from the epicenter.

The whole house shook.

Although, there is a section of the Hayward fault that runs right through the property.

[CrawlingChaos]

58. Jangles your nerves, doesn't it?

Well, it does mine. :) And I've lived in the Bay Area all my life.

Hey I just now heard a USGS guy on KRON say they think it was on the Calaveras. Good. I much prefer it be that rather than any signs of the Hayward fault waking up.

[EFerrari]

60. No kidding. The part I don't like is never knowig when it's over.

It's never actually over, though, is it? :)

[AlphaCentauri]

18. What time is it there?

[avaistheone1]

22. 10:27am Pacific Standard Time

The earthquake struck at 10:09am Pacific time.

[wryter2000]

19. I didn't feel it

I'm so pissed. I'm on a conference call with a bunch of NoCal people, and they all felt it but me. Bummer.

[mnhtnbb]

23. Are you Californians ready to fall into the ocean? I HATE earthquakes

having lived there for 23 years, and experienced the Sylmar quake in February '71.

http://www.lafire.com/famous_fires/710209_SylmarEarthquake/020971_LAHerald_KillerQuake.htm

[avaistheone1]

29. I am about 35 miles from the ocean.

So I hope I am safe. I think most Californians even the ones who live on the coast don't think about it much.


la dolce vita

[CountAllVotes]

35. they had a 4.1 in Redway the other day

and no one even mentioned it. I did not notice it myself and I live about 90 miles from Redway. :shrug:

That was likely the San Andreas fault btw.

[tblue]

25. Felt it

in Los Gatos. It was a quicky. There was one last night, too. Just a "bump."

[OffWithTheirHeads]

33. Just looked out my window. No ocean view yet.

Still waiting in Down town S.J.

I didn't feel it but my dogs started acting up. They are much smarter than I.

[avaistheone1]

45. Yup.

Doggies and animals are the first alert.

[Eyerish]

40. I felt it & I'm in pleasanton,

And I live in Fremont. At first I thought someone had hit the side of the building. Then I heard that distinctive rumble and rattle and knew it was a quake. Having been born and raised in Southern California I am well aquainted with quakes. My husband being from MN on the other hand....he's pretty freaked out right now. :(

[EFerrari]

47. Tell him my neighbor's chickens are quiet and the epicenter

was about 6 miles north of us. Tell him I'll PM you if they start freaking out. :hi:

[Eyerish]

57. Thank You!

:hi: He just told me he'd rather go through a tornado than go through this. I guess you prefer what you are more familiar with..

[EFerrari]

62. Definitely. When Loma Prieta started, I was standing with

my professor and her two other teaching assistants near a doorway in Wheeler Hall at Cal. Of the four of us, I was the only Californian. I had enough time to say "this is an earthquake" and they had enough time to look at me before it really hit -- and the 300 undergrads all started bolting for the door where we were.

I don't remember what my East Coast colleagues did but I instantly turned into Hall Monitor -- "Walk, people. Do not run, WALK. You'll be fine. WALK."

LOL

[shadowknows69]

48. Shit. Keep safe Californians.

[avaistheone1]

54. Thank you.

Got to go check for damage/cracks etc.

:hi:

[Ignis]

49. Well, at least it cut one of my meetings short.

Silvering linings. :D

[EFerrari]

52. Yay!

lol

:)

[avaistheone1]

53. Earthquakes are good for something then.

[Fresh_Start]

61. best site for earthquakes; it was in Milipitas

http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/recenteqs/

You can also chose links for san francisco bay area.
But this front page is a great place to start.
Didn't feel anything in Lamorinda.

[EFerrari]

63. I've been on that distribution list since it started. It IS the best site.

:)

[avaistheone1]

64. Thx. I completed an observer report.

Thought I would contribute the little that I can to science.

[Gormy Cuss]

66. Didn't feel it here either...

in the Diablo Valley.