No, that wasn’t the drill, that was indeed an earthquake.
At publication time, the USGS says that the magnitude was a 4.2 for the quake — then downgraded it to a 3.9, then upgraded it to a 4.0 as of 4:12 this afternoon — that happened at 2:41 PT this afternoon. They report that its epicenter was 2 miles East-Southeast of Berkeley.
According to the USGS, the event was located on the Hayward Fault, and had a depth of about 6 miles.
As of 2:50 PM, BART says they are delayed as train operators conduct post-quake track inspections. They did not have an estimate for when the trains will resume normal operations.
In the Outer Sunset, it felt like two jolts, with a quiver in between. None of the three animals (two dogs and a cat) in my apartment noticed a damn thing.
“A few things actually fell off shelves here. No damage though,” reports John, an Appeal reader in Berkeley. So far, say officials, no damage or injuries have been reported.
According to Keith Knudsen, deputy director of the USGS Earthquake Science Center in Menlo Park, the quake was of the typical “strike-slip” variety, in which two sides of the fault slide horizontally.
Knudsen said the USGS had not yet recorded any aftershocks, and that there is a roughly 5 percent chance that this afternoon’s quake could be a foreshock to a larger seismic event.
What did it feel like for you? Tell the USGS, then tell us.
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