No damage reported after small quake in Bay Area
A small earthquake struck the San Francisco Bay Area on Wednesday evening but there were no immediate reports of injury or damage.
The temblor, which struck at 7:12 p.m., had a preliminary magnitude of 3.7 and was centered about 2 miles east of Berkeley, just across the bay from San Francisco, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
No one reported any damage or injuries, said a Berkeley police dispatcher.
The quake occurred on the Hayward fault, which geologists think is due for a large temblor in the potentially lethal range of 6.7 to 7.0.
“It’s a pretty small earthquake, but just another reminder we’re eventually going to have the biggie here in the Bay Area,” said David P. Schwartz, who has studied the Hayward fault extensively as chief of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bay Area Earthquake Hazards Project.
The Great Quake of 1868 struck on the Hayward fault, a magnitude 6.8 rumbler. Severe quakes have happened on the Hayward fault every 151 years, give or take 23 years, meaning it is now in the danger zone.
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