Great
Earthquakes In Diverse Places
UPDATE: 4.1-Magnitude Earthquake Felt Across Much of San
Francisco Bay Area
4.1 magnitude just southeast of San Jose
By Camden Swita
Bay City News
Did you feel that 'quake roll through Pacifica?
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.1 struck east of
San Jose this afternoon and could be felt throughout much of the
Bay Area, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The quake was reported at 4:10 p.m. in an area just south of Mt.
Hamilton and 13 miles east-southeast of San Jose City Hall,
according to the USGS.
The tremor had a depth of 4.4 miles, the USGS said.
People in the East Bay and San Francisco reported feeling the
quake. BART briefly shut down service to check for damage from the
temblor, but was back up and running within five or 10 minutes, a
dispatcher said.
An employee at the Reid-Hillview Airport, the closest airport to
the quake's epicenter, said operations were continuing as usual
there.
"We felt it, but as far as we can tell, nothing fell down, and no
aircraft were damaged or buildings were damaged," he said.
The owner of Ornamental Edibles, which sells vegetable seeds out
of San Jose, felt it 5810 Killarney Circle.
"There was a little precursor, a little bit of a shake and then a
jolt," store owner Pam Wiggitt said, adding that nothing was
damaged and business wasn't interrupted.
"By the time we looked at each other it was almost over," said
Margie King, owner of MK Technical Services, a staffing agency at
4349 San Felipe Road in San Jose.
San Francisco residents also felt the quake. "My cubicle was
swaying and it took me a minute to realize it was not me or anyone
walking by," said Pamela Ringer-Britz, a project manager at SFL
Data at 100 California St.
"Everyone in my office felt it," she said.
A few aftershocks have been reported in the same location,
including one with a preliminary magnitude of 2.6, according to
the USGS.
The earthquake made the USGS's 2011 list of "significant
earthquakes" coming in behind a 7.1 magnitude 'quake in Chile and
a 7.0 magnitude 'quake in Argentina.
A spokeswoman for the Pacifica Police Department said it has not
received any calls about the earthquake or regarding damage caused
by the earthquake.
Bay City News contributed to this report.