Moderate Earthquake SF Bay Area

[CreekDog]

Source: yahoo

ALUM ROCK, Calif. - A moderate earthquake shook the San Francisco Bay area Tuesday night, but there was no immediate word on any damage.

The quake had a preliminary magnitude of 5.6 and struck shortly after 8 p.m., about five miles northeast of Alum Rock and nine miles northeast of San Jose, according to the U.S. Geological Service.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071031/ap_on_re_us/california_earthquake;_ylt=Aj2wn2rmLJpyvQaFMAvqSppvzwcF

---

Editorial comment: MODERATE MY ASS.

breaking still awaiting

scared the beejesus out of me! felt like around 6 if it was 40 miles away.

5.6 near San Jose per KRON4

Felt like it wouldn't end and there was a more shaking in the middle. Haven't felt one this big since 89. Wonder if it was bigger than what's reported initially.

[RevolutionStartsNow]

1. Just felt it in Monterey Bay, scary!

Felt like a big one, 9 miles NE of San Jose, a 5.6 they just said on the news

[hlthe2b]

2. Oh, F__k...... Damn, California is having it hard, right now...

Don't tell, me Al Quaida is at it again..:sarcasm:

Be safe, San Franciscans...

[junior college]

3. felt like a 4.0 in SF n/t

[CreekDog]

4. the Hell it did, I'm in SSF and that was no 4

4's don't last over 20 seconds!

[Demobrat]

6. Felt more like 6 to me.

I've felt plenty of 4's. That was no 4.

[junior college]

9. it felt like about half of what 89 felt like

is what i'm basing my four on :)

[Hell Hath No Fury]

64. I'm in SF on the hill...

by McClaren Park and I was rocking last night! Being in a wooden house on bedrock and bolted to the foundation I tend not to feel quakes as severely, but damn, last night felt strong and l-o-n-g.

I couldn't believe how long it was lasting -- after the first ten seonds or so I actually began to get a bit worried and was wondering if it was going to be The Big One. :scared:

Four of my cats bolted down the stairs (they never do that during quakes) and even my bird was flying around the room, freaked out.

I went to be with my flashlight in my hand -- just in case :D

I was reading on the Chron website that scientists are worried this quake on the Calaveras will cause some movement on the Hayward fault. Now THAT is going to be one s-c-a-ry quake when it happens!

[CreekDog]

70. 30 seconds duration according to San Jose Mercury News

I had time to choose the best doorway to stand under.

[dg10348]

5. 5.6

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsus/Quakes/...

[bluestateguy]

7. For California, that's not too bad

Scary, yes. But there is no place in the world better prepared for quakes than California.

[Duer 157099]

8. Dang, I didn't feel a damn thing

Course, I'm a good hundred miles or so away (north), but still.

[hedgehog]

10. Trick or treat!

[Odin2005]

11. First fires, now you guys got a quake?

What's next? the four horses of the Apocalypse?

[BeHereNow]

28. The four horses have already appeared- Bush, Cheny, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz.

And they brought they stable boys and girls with them...
Condi
Feith
Bolton
Bauer
Perle
Rove...
the list is endless because it takes a village
to clean up the steaming piles of hell they
leave where ever they go.

BHN

[olddad56]

30. the fires were in South California, this was North California, two different states.

[feminazi]

12. it sounds like it was about 10 miles from me

a piece of my freakin fireplace fell off onto the hearth! damn!

aside for a few other things on the floor, all seems ok.

[stimbox]

13. Felt it in SF.

Biggest I've felt in awhile.

[robbibaba]

14. Felt it in Santa Rosa

Looked up and stuff was swinging. No one else in my family felt it though.

[Binka]

67. Me Too I Live On Fourth Street

I was reading in my bedroom and my young daughter and her tutor were in the dining room, I was like " Wow did you guys just feel that?" and they both said "What?" I could not believe they didn't feel it. It went on forever!

[jgraz]

15. Barely felt it in the Berkeley hills

My girlfriend lives in south Berkeley and she got shook up quite a bit.

[Moochy]

17. Same here .. barely felt it in hills north of you

Here in the Richmond hills a few miles north of you and barely felt it. I heard it more than i felt it.

[Newsjock]

16. Magnitude 5.6 Earthquake Shakes Bay Area

Source: KTVU

MILPITAS, Calif. -- The U.S. Geological Survey is reporting that a 5.6 earthquake centered in the Alum Rock area of San Jose struck the Bay Area at approximately 8:04 p.m. Tuesday night.

The quake's epicenter in the South Bay was some nine miles northeast of San Jose's city hall.

The KTVU Channel 2 newsroom received calls from all over the Bay Area inquiring about the earthquake. Bay residents as far away as Danville and San Carlos reported feeling the tremor.

So far there are no reports of damage or injuries.

Read more: http://www.ktvu.com/earthquakes/14465798/detail.html

[RevolutionStartsNow]

18. Surprised my kids, they weren't sure what to do

Best place is outside our house, there are no overhead power lines.

But the kids weren't alive yet in 1989, they don't know what a truly scary earthquake feels like. When I was kid I used to kind of enjoy earthquakes, but ever since 1989 earthquakes are just damn scary.

[flamingyouth]

19. Moderate earthquake shakes San Francisco

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071031/ap_on_re_us/california_earthquake;_ylt=AsdZUmvptVi8Npy0Y5382T2s0NUE

ALUM ROCK, Calif. - A moderate earthquake shook the San Francisco Bay area Tuesday night, but there was no immediate word on any damage.

The quake had a preliminary magnitude of 5.6 and struck shortly after 8 p.m., about five miles northeast of Alum Rock and nine miles northeast of San Jose, according to the U.S. Geological Service.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

20. House shook like a MO-FO (Silicon Valley)

I was microwaving a pizza and walking to the kitchen when all of a sudden the house let out a loud "CRACK." Shaking lasted between 15 and 30 seconds but it was consistently aggressive for the whole time.

The cat's still in hiding. No visible damage, nothing fell, just 30 seconds of houserockin'...



http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/recenteqs/Quakes/nc40204628.htm

"The magnitude 5.6 event occurred 8 km (5 miles) NNE of Alum Rock, CA."

[Sukie1941]

21. Didn't feel a thing in So. Oregon

But in my R.V., it rocks and rolls even when the cats move around!

I spent first eight years in Richmond, CA and I remember the tiny-paned back porch door rattling alot.

[fleabert]

22. I am 15 min S of SF, about 45 min from SJ- I felt it.

big time. It just kept going...didn't seem to want to stop.

I am on a hill/small mountain right on the ocean, solid bedrock, so it's a biggie if we can feel it. This one was big enough for us to hold our breath for bit, grab the dog and stand in the least windowed part of the house.

hope all is okay near SJ- quite a shaker that one...no damage in my house, just my nerves!

[Pastiche423]

26. Are you in Brisbane?

[fleabert]

73. pacifica. nt

[chatnoir]

23. Rockin' and rollin' here a few miles south of SF

It seemed to linger awhile. The pc display was shaking back and forth, as were the tv and the sofa with us on it. Was waiting for the tv to topple off the table.

[datadiva]

24. I'm in Stockton and I felt it here

At my desk sitting on my office chair, with rollers. Pushed me away from my desk! A sharp jolt which is unusual here. We usually get the rolling motion.

[Der Blaue Engel]

25. That was exactly my experience

Biggest one I've felt since '89. People can scoff at me and yawn if they like. I know 5.6 isn't a big deal, but it did feel strong here.

[Taverner]

27. Felt it out in San Ramon

Wow...shaky here but pretty long

[diane in sf]

29. I'm in the Castro in SF and it kept going for some time--felt like a 6 to me.

[mustang]

31. Felt on the Peninsula

pretty strongly. Lots of shaking windows and rattling. It was long. I'm sure there will be aftershocks tonight. My sister in Pacifica didn't feel it, but they are on bedrock. I'm prepared. I live by myself so, I don't want to have to sit in the dark. I have an emergency pack to get me through a few days. I was at Candlestick for the '89 quake. Still have the ticket stub.

[BuddhaGirl]

32. we felt it in Mill Valley

I was standing at the kitchen sink, washing dishes...boy did our windows rattle!!!

[Liberty Belle]

33. 5.6 Quake Shakes the Bay Area

Source: San Francisco Chronicle (SFGate)

(10-30) 20:16 PDT San Francisco -- An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.6 has just been felt around the Bay Area. The epicenter, according to preliminary information from the U.S. Geological Survey, is at Alum Rock near San Jose. The quake occurred at 8:03 p.m.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/flat/archive/2007/10/30/chronicle/archive/2007/03/07/BA7FOGO71.html

---

I was talking to a friend in Oakland when this hit; he said it was a very long shaker.

Trying to reach my son in Berkeley; anybody know if there was damage up there?

[tidy_bowl]

34. Here in Tracy, Ca.....

....about 50 miles east of SF (near Lawrence Livermore Lab) I felt the rolling 5.6 quake very well and it is the first time I felt one in the 14 years I have lived here. It was very strong and lasted for about 8-10 seconds.

[napi21]

35. I have a question for you DUERS in Ca.

I was born and raised in Pa. and I remember how weird I thought it was on my first trip to CA. there were signs in the hall of the hotel about what to do in case of an eathqauake.

I know I've seen a LOT of notices here on DU about different quakes in many areas of Ca and I'd like to know if thiws is just something you have all the time so you learn to live with it? Kinda like hurricanes and severe storms in Fl?

[Duer 157099]

36. Yes. Until a big one hits, it's pretty ho-hum

And by big I mean 6+. I've been in a couple (71 Sylmar 6.6, 94 Northridge 6.7). They are no fun.

[Sal Minella]

37. I'm in midwest and my son is in Southern California -- he says he'd rather live in

earthquake country "because you can't stand there and watch an earthquake coming at you across the prairie."

[GregD]

38. Couldn't agree more

They come, they do what they do, and they go. Maybe a few aftershocks, which with the big ones can cause a helluva mess, but... I would so rather deal with quakes than the freaking storms that build up for days, terrorize your butts, then don't seem to freaking leave and keep on keeping on...

[MsKandice01]

41. I've lived in California all my life...

And earthquakes, while startling at times, become pretty routine after a while. There's always that initially thought, "Is that an earthquake?", then once you realize that's what it is, you start to worry, "Is this going to be a big one?" and by that time, they're usually over with.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

66. I am smiling at your post!

Written like a true Californian, though I would add this:

1) Is this a quake?
2) Is this The Big One?
3) Dang, how much was that on the Richter scale? :D

After I finished shaking for what seemed like forever, I immediately tried to rate it -- I first thought 5.6, but thought I was over reacting and brought it down to 5.2

:hi:

[CanSocDem]

69. Yeh....

....in 69-70 I was living in an apt next to that tall Holiday Inn in Hollywood with the revolving restaurant. A couple of times a month a mild shaker would rattle the dishes and the pictures on the wall at 5 or 6 in the morning.

The first couple of times I leapt from my bed to crouching, terrified under a door jamb. I gradually calmed down enough to, not sleep through them, but at least stay in bed.

But I did read that peoples natural intuition would draw them away from severe quakes if coping with those consequences were not part of your life plan. I left California about 4 months before the '71 quake that hit SoCal. A couple of years later, I read that thing about 'intuition'....

.

[mustang]

43. Not all the time, several are felt a year

Living in Northern California. I wouldn't say you feel them all the time, because most people don't feel an earthquake unless it's a 3 or 4 or more in strength. When there is an minor earthquake, depending on the location, some people feel it, some people don't. It depends on the type of land you're on (landfill, bedrock, also the strength of the building your in, the floor your on, etc).

When the earthquake is bigger, like the one tonight (5.6) most people feel the movement. There is some damage, things falling off shelves, things moving, windows rattling (in the '89 quake, windows broke, that's why you supposed to get away from windows) etc. People call family to see if they're ok. Public officials usually go over preparation, like having an emergency kit. I have to tell you that a lot of people aren't prepared. You're supposed to have a 3 day supply (food,water, blankets, flashlight, radio).

It's just something in the back of your mind. I've lived here all my life and I don't think about them all the time. I probably feel one or two a year, usually minor. I have an emergency kit. I know that when the '89 quake hit, it felt so powerful I thought, "this is it." I think people here know this is out of their hands, they can't predict where they'll be when it hits, and you can't live your life in fear.

[sce56]

45. I felt the 71 Sylmar quake and quite a few small ones since then around the world.

I felt them in Okinawa, Guam, Hawaii and did not feel the 89 Loma Prieta quake but did get a certificate from the Chief of Engineers on my support of the relief effort there. I've experienced Hurricanes, Typhoons and tornado warnings I would rather deal with Earthquakes as long as they are not bigger than a 5.5! Now the southern part of the San Andreas Fault is over due for it's slip the longer it waits the greater the strain it is building so I hope to be as prepared as possible if it should happen it might be bigger than any other disaster seen yet!

Many features of the San Andreas Fault are visible along Elizabeth Lake Road (County Road N2). Fault Slice Ridges are visible on the north side of the road between Bouquet Canyon Road and Johnson Pass Road. More evidence of the fault is the narrow, linear valley that the highway goes through. Sag ponds also exist here. Elizabeth Lake, Munz Lakes, and Lake Hughes are sag ponds. Some of them may have been enlarged by man but look much the same. Other examples of fault features are offset streams. Movement along the fault has produced some spectacular folding. This is most evident at Avenue S on State Route 14. The ridge line that runs along here was formed as a result of fault movement. The last time the fault moved here was January 9, 1857. Over 13 feet of movement occurred here. This fault is what people in Southern California refer to as THE Fault.

[kimmylavin]

47. Never seen anything about my town on a big website!

I live in Lake Elizabeth (the lake is Elizabeth Lake, the town is Lake Elizabeth. Weird, I know).
The one road that runs out of town, Elizabeth Lake Road, is ON the San Andreas Fault.

Its absolutely beautiful here, but we do live in constant dread of the day we become oceanside property... :)

[sce56]

58. For the picture I was looking for a article from MSNBC I saw last year that showed US14 where it

passes the fault by Lake Los Angeles could not find it but found that one instead.

[Garbo 2004]

46. Many places in CA you rarely feel an earthquake. Some area are more seismically active than others

and most quakes are so small that they aren't even felt.

[CreekDog]

50. I'm scared of every earthquake because you can't tell how big it's going to be

Even once it's started.

This one lasted 30 seconds, a hell of a long time to have your house literally moving back and forth, not swaying, moving. And the sound in quakes, big or small is unmistakable. Imagine thunder, really close.

[Up2Late]

52. I remember thinking that to when I moved out to Santa Barbara, but no...,

...they don't get them "all the time." I lived in Santa Barbara for 3 years an only felt 2 while I was there (both about 4.5s and only about 3 months apart).

Usually, unless you are right over top of one, the 4.x and 5.x quakes (in California) are kind of fun, especially the ones that seem to Roll, but once they get to 6.0 or more, those start to cause the damage and are not usually very fun.

[architect359]

39. Here in San Fran

On the western edge of the city - we felt the tremblor and it felt like it would go on and on at that moment. In the end, it probably lasted about 10 or so seconds. Interestingly enough, we heard the building creak, like someone was walking upstairs, before the actually shaking begun. There was a definite low rumble sound during the earthquake.

Hope DU-ers in the South Bay are OK.

[CreekDog]

48. Longer than 10 seconds, I had time to notice it, get up and choose my doorway

and wait for it to end.

we're talking 25+ seconds, I'm near Skyline in SSF.

[architect359]

59. Hmm. That's interesting.

You're probably right about that. It definitely was longer than I had anticipated when it first started. I'm in the Outer Sunset area.

[CreekDog]

71. They said 30 seconds (Mercury News), that's as long as Loma Prieta

But far less severe obviously.

[shanti]

63. self-delete

n/t

[MsKandice01]

40. I'm in the San Jose area...

And I was at pub trivia in a bar when it happened. It was pretty strong but it wasn't anything that would cause any damage. The only thing that scares me is that it could have possibly been a precursor to something stronger but I'm just hoping for now that wasn't the case.

[1932]

42. I met a woman who was in the Loma Prieta earthquake and she said it was awful

she said her hair turned gray after the earthquake.

[Liberty Belle]

44. The wildfires are much more scarey than the quakes.

Quakes in southern California at least are almost always just minor rumbles, except for the big LA Quake a few years back. If you avoid living close to a fault line, you can minimize your risk of serious damage. Mostly you just feel some minor shaking for half a minute or less, then its over.

The wildfires, by contrast, forced half a million people in San Diego to flee their homes, burned swaths of devastation into the urban areas, not just brushy back country, and wrecked air quality countywide. Did I mention we also had category 1 and 2 hurricane force winds? To me, those winds are far more scarey, and a deadly combination whenever a spark ignites the dry brush here.

I've been through a few quakes, none severe. Worst was when I worked in the Capitol in Sacramento and a fairly big quake hit the Bay Area. It knocked out power and we had to feel out way down three flights of stairs in pitch darkness.
Most quakes don't cause much damage and even those that do don't kill many people anymore because of the earthquake-resistant building standards now. Deaths in the LA quake were nearly all from an old apartment that collapsed. The Bay Area quake was an exception, when a freeway pancaked. But I can't recall another like that in my lifetime, and I'm 50.

Funny thing; i went to a conference in St Louis right after the LA Quake. I was there the day the floodwaters crested in the 500-year-flood. The same day, lightning struck a tourist in front of our hotel. We also saw a tornado that touched down and tore up the airport runway a mile away. Yet everyone I met from the midwest kept asking, "You're from California - how can you live there with all those earthquakes?"

[CreekDog]

49. Lasted 30 seconds according to the SJ Mercury News

5.6 quake hits near Alum Rock, strongest since Loma Prieta
By Sandra Gonzalez and Julie Sevrens Lyons
Mercury News
Article Launched: 10/30/2007 11:05:20 PM PDT


A moderate, but powerful earthquake - the strongest since the 1989 Loma Prieta temblor - struck San Jose on Tuesday night, shaking several buildings, homes and apartments sending many rattled residents pouring from their homes.

Early on, only minimal damage was reported.

The temblor, which happened on the Calaveras Fault, hit at 8:04 p.m., lasted about 30 seconds, and measured 5.6 on the magnitude scale, according to a preliminary estimate from the U.S. Geological Survey.

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_7326146?nclick_check=1

[Bicoastal]

51. This is nothing new...

...everyone knows God HATES San Francisco.

Edit: I don't REALLY need a :sarcasm:, do I?

[OffWithTheirHeads]

53. I live in downtown San Jose. I have lived in the Bay area

most of my life. I have lived through the quake of 56 and the Loma Prieta quake. Yesterday's quake was just a KKKarl Rove attempt to distract us from the Dem debate.

[Liberty Belle]

54. Shaken, Stirred? (5.6 quake raises danger of strong temblor on Hayward Fault)

Source: San Francisco Examiner (SF Gate)


The 5.6-quake that closed this supermarket in San Jose on Tuesday may have raised the danger of a strong temblor on the Hayward Fault, scientists say. Tuesday's quake was the strongest in the Bay Area since the 1989 Loma Prieta event.

The magnitude-5.6 earthquake that rattled the entire Bay Area at 54 seconds past 8:04 p.m. Tuesday caused dynamic shaking along the southern segment of the Calaveras Fault and heightened the possibility of more quakes farther north along the much more dangerous Hayward Fault, scientists said.

Instruments all around the U.S. Geological Survey's seismic-monitoring network reported that the fault ruptured at a depth of 5.7 miles and the shaking was felt as far north as Eugene, Ore.

David Oppenheimer of the USGS said that although the quake was felt as a strong jolt over a wide region, it was more significant because it doubtless caused what scientists call "stress changes" in the southern section of the Calaveras Fault as well as the Hayward.



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/

---

Uh-oh. First the fires, now earthquakes. California is the Shake 'n' Bake state!

[krispos42]

55. Shake and Bake!

:rofl:


:thumbsup:

[Bobbieo]

57. Wish you lived on the Hayward Fault so you could really "shake and bake".

Hah hah hah!!!!!

[krispos42]

65. That makes one of us...

Have fun living on the new Archipelago of California. I'll stay here in Minno-snow-ta where the land doesn't move without help, thank you very much.

:-)

[soothsayer]

56. How does the new 5.6 compare to the Richter? They changed the way they

measure quakes now, didn't they? Where they use an underground sensor instead of an above ground one, or vice versa? I think the new EQs come in with lower numbers whereas they'd have been higher with the old way of measuring.

[Si Valley Dan]

68. Where do I pick up my Guvmint check?

Perfectly good 1 year old Sony TV with a gashed bezel from a 3 foot fall but still works. I love Sony! Spilled broken $12 bottle of imported Balsamic, Broken nick-naks everywhere, A 3 year old horse (her first earthquake, she's Canadian but legal):kick: who tried to get out of town by jumping a 5 foot fence and failed smashing the two upper 2 x 6's in her haste, McGuire's liquid wax all over the garage...
I tell you it's a travesty. Where dem guvmint guys at anyway? I'm watching Fox News for terrorist involvement in this.

[antiimperialist]

60. This is not an important news

a 5.6 earthquake is rarely deadly, and the damage it can cause is minimal if any. Was anyone even injured? It's California, where seisms are not uncommon. Let's not waste our times unless an earhquake worth reporting occurs.

[Javaman]

61. Are you aware that it shook for as long as a minute?

it's not the size it's the time.

If you have a 4.0 shake for 5 minutes, that will do a lot of damage. but if you have a 5.6 shake for 5 seconds it will do virtually nothing.

This was a 5.6 that shook for a minute.

Have you ever been in a quake?

[Hell Hath No Fury]

62. This San Franciscan is glad...

there is a LBN thread on DU where I can check in with my fellow NorCalers to find out how they are doing affter a good sized quake. Gotta problem with that?

What are you, the news police?

[CreekDog]

72. Your post is ridiculous. nt

[classysassy]

74. A warning

could that be a warning for Nancy"the nut",to impeach that evil moron in the oval office?

[RexDart]

75. Report from Santa Cruz.

I was at the Del Mar Theatre (a 1936 art deco wonder) watching Nosferatu with a live band doing the music. The quake hit about 5 minutes before the end of act 1. The first stirrings brought my usual "is this a quake, or am I having a stroke?" question, but I quickly came down on the side of quake. I then watch the crowd to see the reactions. I was almost sold out, so I'd say there were just under 500 people there. Not much reaction until the second, sharper set of waves hit. There was a little muttering, and a few people tried to make it to the lobby. I just sat tight, I've always felt safe in that building, it's a big concrete box.

I will say this for the band, they didn't miss a beat. The house lights came up briefly, but were brought down after about 30 seconds. The music and the movie kept playing until the intermission. Which is why, I think, that the Sentinel reported that a quarter of the people went into the lobby. I did, but I needed to hit the litterbox during intermission.

Walked home afterwards and got the report from my wife. No damage at home, but the cats were all going bonkers crazy.

As far as quakes go, this one seemed to be a non-event. The Paso Robles quake in 2003 seemed much stronger.

[KamaAina]

76. Money quote of the day

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/31/MN7FOGO71.DTL

Guitarist A.J. Flores was at his San Jose home playing with his band when the quake hit. A lamp and guitar fell over amid the shaking.

"Yeah, man, we thought we were really rocking out," Flores said, adding that the musicians quickly realized it was an earthquake and not their Metallica cover song that caused the ruckus.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

edit; italics

[CreekDog]

77. did you see the youtube video of the quake?

kid was doing a comedy video lifting a barbell with not weights at the ends, but stuffed animals and trying to make it look like an athletic feat. Then suddenly you seem the room start shaking and he jumps up and says, "earthquake!" and runs and the video goes off.

I can't find the link but the tv news showed it last night.

[CreekDog]

78. But look at the bright side, kept Dr. Phil off the air for almost an hour! nt