This Just In…Earthquake Hits San Francisco. Really?
July 20, 2007 by Kath Skerry
So I’m perusing CNN and I read that San Francisco was hit with a 4.2 magnitude earthquake this morning at 4:42am PT. Um, yeah, I was awake and already updating GMMR at 4:42am. Just wondering I managed to miss an earthquake that according to sources is powerful enough to “break dishes and window, and overturn unstable objects.” Being from the East Coast you think I would have felt the quake a bit more than those who are a little more use to them. So bizarre.
This post is really for my Mom who has never come out to California for fear that the minute she landed the West Coast would experience a massive earthquake that would break the fault line and send California falling into the Pacific Ocean. Just in case you read the story of the quake on CNN or something, I just wanted to let you know that I’m fine. But hey…the quake happened over three hours ago. Do you not check CNN? Are you not at all concerned about the welfare of your youngest daughter? I alway knew you liked Karen more than me. HMPH!! 😉
A 4.2-magnitude earthquake shook the San Francisco area Friday at 4:42 a.m. PT (7:42 a.m. ET), the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The quake left about 2,000 customers without power, said David Eisenhower, a spokesman for Pacific Gas and Light.
Under the USGS classification, a 4.2-magnitude earthquake is considered “light,” which it says usually causes minimal damage. “We had quite a spike in calls, mostly calls of inquiry, none of any injury, none of any damage that was reported,” said Capt. Al Casciato of the San Francisco police. “It was fairly mild.”
The quake was centered about two miles east-northeast of Oakland, at a depth of 3.6 miles, the USGS said. Oakland is just east of San Francisco, across San Francisco Bay.
An Oakland police dispatcher told CNN the quake set off alarms at people’s homes. The shaking lasted about 50 seconds, said CNN meteorologist Chad Myers.
According to the USGS, 4.2-magnitude quakes are felt indoors and may break dishes and windows, and overturn unstable objects. Pendulum clocks may stop.
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You know, I went to LA a few years ago and while I was there, there was an earthquake of about the same magnitude. I didn’t feel it either. I figured it was because I was in a taxi and you know how those things are!!! 😉
under magnitude 5 are barely worth noting and, if you are on bedrock you won’t (unless it’s damned near underneath you)…
i’ve always had problems with the news that reports these things. as an example, someone said “san francisco was rocked by earthquake,” and my first instinct was to think 6.5 or above…
my gauge for corrected newspaper adjectives:
5 (you notice it only if you are in the immediate vicinity)
moderate, at best
6 (you notice it, even if you are “down the road”)
strong
7 (you notice it, even if you are ‘in the next county’)
powerful
8 (you notice it, even if you are dead)
very powerful
9 you can watch the earth wave at you for MINUTES if you were solidly-attached to something that didn’t slap you upside the head, knocking you out first
take this gauge for what you will. i’ve been on top of all but the 8, and i’m told seattle (where i live at the moment) is waiting for a magnitude 9 (you could be dead for centuries and feel that one)…
Awww GMMR. We all love you still. 😛 In all seriousness, when I heard I seriously though, on crap GMMR is there. haha.
actually, it was in berkeley, so we felt it here
Good for you thinking about your mom. I’m glad you’re OK.
Have fun on the rest of your trip.
I live in San Francisco and did not feel the earthquake either. I think it was actually centered in Berkeley, and it was so light we would not feel it in the City. I have felt earthquakes a little stronger than that but didn’t even notice except that I felt a little dizzy. Trust me, you will notice a real one.
Yup, I was woken up by the earthquake around 4:30am (don’t know the exact time, but I remember being extremely tired, groggy, confused, and a bit scared). I wasn’t sure if my mom or brother felt it too but when we all came down in the morning a few hours later, they were talking about how they felt the quake.
It was scary because it was almost a minute long. Thankfully that was all that was felt.
I doubt many people in San Francisco felt it because the epicenter was in Oakland. However, as someone who lives in Berkeley, I can assure you the a 4.2 magnitude earthquake is enough to shake your bed, rattle your furniture (and nerves) and wake you up from your John Krasinski dream! Stupid earth, he was about to kiss me! ; )
all i could think about was that 42 is one of the “lost” numbers…
that show’s getting to my head, haha
how behind am I, here I am living temporarily in the bay area and freaking scared of earthquakes and I find out about the quake by catching up at GMMR… Not to mention my company is housing me on fill (can you say liquifaction!). So I run to the USGS site and there she is in her big block-y-ness! http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/recenteqs/latest.htm Since your in beautiful San Diego for Comic Con, take note of the lower portion of the map. (but nothing happens w/in the city limits of SD, I lived there for 15 yrs and swear by it, ah home..)