A MODERATE earthquake has struck the San Francisco Bay area.Initial reports say the quake was 5.6 on the Richter scale.The magnitude-5.6 tremor, centered about 9 miles northeast of San Jose, was the strongest to hit the Bay Area since the 1989 Loma Prieta quake, which killed 62 people, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Scientists have warned for decades of another big one—this time on the Hayward, which runs through a 50-mile swath of suburbia east of San Francisco.
The San Jose Mercury news website reported the earthquake caused minor damage, but did not give details.It said residents poured out of apartments in downtown San Jose to survey the damage.
Tuesday's temblor, however, came from the lesser-known Calaveras Fault. The quake produced no reports of serious injuries or damage, officials said, but it managed to rattle nerves and homes when it struck shortly after 8 p.m. The shaking was widely felt within an 80-mile radius, as far away as Santa Rosa, Sacramento and Monterey.
The epicenter was near Alum Rock, in the Diablo Range foothills east of San Jose—not far from home of Mayor Chuck Reed.
The website also reported phone service failed in a part of Palo Alto, home to Hewlett-Packard computer company and Stanford University.
"It was pretty significant. you could actually hear the rumbling of the ground. It was a good shake," said Nick Muyo, a spokesman for the San Jose Police Department.
Asked about damage, he said he knew of "nothing other than things tipping off cabinets and dressers."The quake occurred at a depth of 9.2 km, according to official monitors.
Historically, severe quakes have occurred on the Hayward every 151 years, give or take 23 years. The last one to hit was in 1868, meaning it is now into the danger zone.
The Association of Bay Area Governments estimates such a powerful Hayward quake would wipe out some 155,000 housing units, 37,000 in San Francisco alone.
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