An earthquake centered in the upper Peninsula, near San Francisco International Airport, rattled Bay Area residents Friday night.
The quake initially registered as a magnitude 3.9, but it was soon downgraded to 3.7, according to Robert de Groot, team lead for the U.S. Geological Survey’s ShakeAlert.
“This sort of earthquake is your garden variety, run-of-the-mill earthquake,” said de Groot, adding that “magnitude 3 and magnitude 4 (earthquakes) are very common” in California.
The quake struck at 6:38 p.m. about 1.2 miles north of Millbrae and at a depth of just over 8.1 miles, according to the USGS website. It was felt in San Francisco and Oakland.
There were no immediate reports of damage, according to the North County Fire Authority.
“NCFA units are checking the community for any damage related to the earthquake,” the authority said in a social media post. “No major issues reported at this time.”
The earthquake also had “no impact to SFO operations,” according to airport spokesman Doug Yakel.
BART service was stopped for about 20 minutes following the quake, but was up and running again by 7 p.m., KRON4 reported.
Friday’s earthquake quickly follows another sizable seismic event in Northern California, a magnitude 4.2 quake that struck the Sacramento County town of Isleton on Oct. 18 and caused shaking throughout the Delta area and well beyond.
Many Bay Area residents are already on high alert this time of year, during the anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake that rocked the region on Oct. 17, 1989. So, two back-to-back quakes might cause some concerns.
Yet, de Groot says that we’ve experienced isn’t out of the ordinary for the Golden State.
“What happened (Friday) and what happened (Oct. 18) is just what happens in earthquake country,” he said.
Source: www.mercurynews.com