Butrfly's Wonderings

Posted on Sat, Dec. 23, 2006

Third earthquake in four days shakes San Francisco Bay Area

Associated Press
BERKELEY, Calif. - The third small earthquake in four days rattled the San Francisco Bay Area Saturday, but there were no immediate reports of injury or damage.

The temblor that struck Alameda County at 9:21 a.m. had a preliminary magnitude of 3.5 and a depth of about 6.1 miles, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The epicenter was about 2 miles from Berkeley, 3 miles from Piedmont and 3 miles from Emeryville, across the bay from San Francisco.

Residents throughout the Bay Area reported feeling the jolt, but Berkeley police said there were no reports of anyone being hurt by the quake.

Saturday morning's earthquake was similar in magnitude and location to temblors that struck Wednesday and Friday.

The three quakes erupted along the Hayward Fault, which geologists believe is due for a large quake in the potentially lethal 6.7 to 7.0 range.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayward_Fault

Lots of info on the area around the Hayward fault zone. It includes oil refineries, rapid transit, underground tunnels, underwater transportation tubes, many hospitals, universities, major highway arteries, ports, railroads, sports stadiums, several major bridges, and lots of people all residing on top of or near the fault.

Some planning has been done, but not nearly enough actually put into action.

Most people are told to plan to take care of themselves. Some have emergency kits and family plans. Some companies have safety committees that have written plans. The Loma Prieta quake in '89 did a lot of good in that respect.

I spent most of my life in that area and it is not nearly as prepared as it should be, especially after seeing how well the "disaster planning" helped in New Orleans. I hope I am far enough away from it now. Experiencing another '89 type quake is not on my list of things I want to do again. I have my emergency kit in my closet, just in case.