A preliminary 4.5 magnitude earthquake struck south of Gilroy Tuesday afternoon, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The quake hit at 3:23 p.m. and was centered 5.5 miles southeast of Hollister, 19.3 miles east of Prunedale and 19.5 miles southeast of Gilroy, the USGS said.
USGS research geophysicist Sarah Minson said the quake struck near the San Andreas Fault and caused moderate level shaking.
"You wait for a lot of aftershocks to show up and then you figure out which exact strand was illuminated by all these aftershocks ... all we can say is that its located near the San Andreas Fault,” she said.
The shake sent customers and employees running for safety throughout the Dollar General store in Hollister.
"It was just like a freight train that just kinda hit," said assistant manager, Javier Correa. "This is one of my worst ones."
The store's aisles were covered in chemicals, food, and flooded waters.
"It looks like a pipe probably broke," said Correa.
Leaving him with no other choice but to close as they clean up the mess and deal with what he says is over $1,000 in damages.
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The business is just a mile from one of several faults in the area, the Calaveras Fault, but right on top is Vanessa Archibeque.
The Hollister resident said that, "in the last six to eight months, we felt a lot more small earthquakes, this is the biggest one though."
Those living a mile from the epicenter, in the heart of Tres Pinos, said the jolt is a wake up call.
"We were just talking about to find where your gas shut off is where your water shut off is," said resident Louise Calusen.
No other information was immediately available.
This is a developing story. Details may change as more information becomes available. Stay tuned for updates.
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