News

4.0 earthquake felt in Berkeley at 5.33 am Monday

March 5, 2012 5:39 am by Tracey Taylor

The Mira Vista Country Club in El Cerrito: the epicenter of Monday morning's earthquake according to USGS

Update, 3:20 pm: USGS updated the initial earthquake quake that happened at 5:33:12 am this morning from magnitude 2.9 to 3.5.

Update, 9:35 am: This morning’s 4.0 magnitude earthquake, which was 5.7 miles deep, was immediately preceded by a 2.9 magnitude quake — which is why many reported feeling two distinct shakes. It was followed by two aftershocks: a 2.0 magnitude quake at 6:03am, then a 1.1 magnitude at 6:29am.

Berkeleysiders who lived very close by felt rattled. Reader Sharris wrote: “It felt very strong here in Richmond’s Marina Bay neighborhood. I haven’t felt anything so strong since the 1989 quake. The house was a-shaking and it was very noisy. It seemed like the roof would fall in any moment. Glad that’s over!”

Update: 5:40am: USGS downgraded the magnitude to 4.0.

What felt like two strong earthquakes struck at 5:33am Monday morning. USGS put the epicenter as one mile north of El Cerrito, four miles NNW of Berkeley.

The magnitude at the time of writing was determined as 4:3.

22 Comments

Print Friendly
  • Sonomaseasons

    felt it here in Sebastopol, ca

  • JW

    According to the USGS, there was two earthquakes on either side of the fault line:

     http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqscanv/FaultMaps/122-38_eqs.html

  • serkes

    I’d rank it “James Bond”

    We were shaken, not stirred (though previous quakes have stirred us to be prepared)

    Link to the Alan Kropp USGS Map of Landslides in the Berkeley Area … also has the Earthquake Fault location in Berkeley / Kensington / El Cerrito.  This quake looks like it was centered in the Mira Vista Golf Course, just Northwest of the map’s boundary.

    http://akropp.com/uploads/File/resources/downloads/berkeley_hills_slide_map.pdf

    Ira

  • JW

    Sorry, there were two earthquakes.  I was a little shaken up when I typed my post.

  • Sue Tomasello

    Wow, that got my attention!  Does anyone know why USGS immediately reported a second quake 7 seconds later in Belvedere/Tiburon, then removed it from their map?
    Oh and kudos for Berkeleyside reporting this so soon.  Not that anyone in Berkeley didn’t feel it…

  • SP

    There can often be false reports in the moments after an earthquake when there is not enough processed data.

  • Jo

    Good Morning – felt it in San Francisco – but not like our East Bay neighbors.  Jolt.  Cheers!

  • Squiggle

    Felt it in dillon beach. Pretty weak, but rattled a bit

  • Bill

    Definitely a real jolt, about 3 seconds, in Tiburon. 

  • Hyper_lexic

    why are you awake at 5:39 AM to write this?  That’s some dedication…

  • JW

     Yes, I noticed two big red squares on the map early on as well. 

  • 3rdGenBerkeleyan

     CHEERS?

  • Ddorenz

    A wake  up call for all of us. Remember to get your back packs with supplies ready. Fire folks are telling us we are on our own for a couple of weekes AT LEAST. They will be at hospitals, schools and any location where there are a lot of people congregated. The BART didn’t seem to miss a beat though: I wonder if they check the tracks before they run the trains? They obviously didn’t do it this time though. A nature note: the crows that usually inhabit the lone redwood on Curtis went absolutely crazy so I wonder if the quake stirred them up or a hawk!?

  • guest

    There was a BART delay this morning as they did shut down to check tracks.

  • Sharris

    It felt very strong here in Richmond’s Marina Bay neighborhood. I haven’t felt anything so strong since the 1989 quake.  The house was a-shaking and it was very noisy. It seemed like the roof would fall in any moment. Glad that’s over!

  • Salope

    Woke the whole house up! Dog started running around in alarm, cockatiel frantically fluttered in her cage.. my visitor from Nicaragua got up and exclaimed that this is one more reason she doesn’t like living the Bay Area. First jolt was really something! Nothing broken, but some jangled nerves.

  • Meliflaw

     Well, British people have been known to say, “Cheers!” for “Thanks.” (Also for “No problem,” “OK,” and other positive expression.) Odd at first–you wonder where the drinks got to.

  • serkes

    I recall hearing about the Managua earthquake many years ago … I wonder what earthquake preparations they’ve done in Nicaragua since then.

  • Salope

    Serkes, I’d say none. My friend lives in Managua. She sad Nica does have earthquakes, but she’s never experienced on there. Given that they regularly lose their water service, I’d doubt earthquake preparedness is on the top of their fixing the infrastructure list. 

  • Jeff Schlags
  • Katherinecricket

    I haven’t felt such a strong quake in the ten years I’ve lived in the Bay Area.

  • Jeffaberry415

    The Belvedere Tiburon thing may have been my fault, as soon as it hit I have an ap on my I-phone and I reported via the USGS page that I’d “felt” it. 

    Not sure, but I was on the site within a minute of it hitting.