UPDATE: a Facebook Friend reports that there were three earthquakes since the 1:07 AM one. And a visit to the USGS website reveals two more smaller tremors near the spot of the first one. The second one in Orinda, CA at 2:07 AM PST, and the third earthquake in Berkeley, at the same spot as the first one, at 2:15 AM PST.
Earthquake in Oakland? Yep. Well, sorta.
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS) website, an earthquake started at 1;07 AM PST / 4:07 AM EST today (Tuesday, October 15th) and at a point 4.5 miles beneath the Earth’s surface, and just directly east, northeast of Berkeley, California.
While the USGS website did not officially say the Hayward Fault was the place where the earthquake happened, anyone who’s lived here long enough knows that fissure is the only one that could have ruptured at that location.
(It must also be noted that the USGS website has a note that reads “Due to a lapse in Federal funding, the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program has suspended most of its operations. While the USGS will continue to monitor and report on earthquake activity, the accuracy or timeliness of some earthquake information products, as well as the availability or functionality of some web pages, could be affected by our reduced level of operation.”)
The Hayward Fault runs through Berkeley, and then continues east, northeast. Moreover, it runs under the California Memorial Stadium, where the California Golden Bears play football.
The earthquake, small though it may be, does give rise to the question are we due for a larger earthquake along The Hayward Fault?
Time will tell. Of course, if the time frame’s the next thousand years, the answer’s yes, but we really mean the next 10 years or really the next three to five years.
Stay tuned.