Multiple small magnitude earthquakes struck in the East Bay Saturday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey. Christie Smith reports.
Multiple small magnitude earthquakes struck in the East Bay Saturday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The first quake, a magnitude 3.0, hit at 9:24 a.m. and was centered in San Leandro, the USGS said. Two other quakes hit the same area at 9:43 a.m., according to the USGS. One was reported to be a magnitude 2.7 earthquake, while the other was reported to be a 3.0 magnitude quake.
USGS also reported a magnitude 2.2 earthquake that hit the San Leandro area at around 10 a.m.
"I just felt a jolt like literally like a jolt it was very brief and definitely felt a jolt saw my cousins plant shake in the house we definitely knew it was an earthquake right away," said Oakland resident Leana Powell.
“We are seeing a total of four earthquakes in that area near San Leandro in a short period,” said John Bellini, a geophysicist with the USGS National Earthquake Information Center. “California is a fairly active state as far as earthquakes go. So, when we see something like this it happens more commonly than you think, it’s just that a lot of times they’re not large enough to feel. So, seeing a small swarm like this is a short period of time doesn’t really cause any significant cause for concern.”
People across the Bay Area felt the jolts. But there were no immediate reports of damage.
“We have had over 250 reports so far. The reports actually span the area from the east as well as the west of the epicenter, so it’s fairly circular distribution of where the epicenter of the quake occurred,” Bellini said.
The quakes were centered right near the Oakland Zoo.
The zoo tweeted the following Saturday “All of our animals and facility are safe and sound. Our staff says the quake felt more like a gust of wind. Thank you all for your concern.”
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The quakes may not have been powerful, but they certainly shook people up.
“The whole house just kind of shook, it was, I got scared my brother was downstairs. So, I called him up and we all went under the doorway,” said San Leandro resident Jazlyn Tandel.
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