Local News

SAN JOSE (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ― A magnitude 5.6 earthquake - the strongest to occur since the infamous 1989 Loma Prieta quake - shook much of the San Franciso Bay Area for about a minute on Tuesday night. There were reports of moderate damage in the South Bay, but no serious injuries.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake hit at approximately 8:04 p.m. and was felt widely throughout Northern California, rattling homes and nerves.

It was centered in the South Bay about 5 miles northeast of Alum Rock, 6 miles from Milpitas, and 9 miles from San Jose City Hall. 

USGS seismologist Steve Walter said the quake took place at a depth of 5.7 miles underground on the Calaveras fault, near the junction with the Hayward fault.

Earthquakes on the Calaveras fault were common in the 1980s, according to the USGS. But the last ones of this magnitude were a 5.3 quake on June 13, 1988 and another back in 1984 in Morgan Hill measuring 6.2.

The last major earthquake in Northern California -- the magnitude-7.1 Loma Prieta quake -- struck in October 1989 just before the third game of the World Series at San Francisco's Candlestick Park. The quake, centered in the Santa Cruz Mountains on the San Andreas fault, killed 62 people and caused nearly $3 billion in damage.

The USGS reported over a dozen aftershocks to Tuesday night's quake, the largest with a magnitude of 2.1 at 8:41 p.m.  About a half-dozen of the aftershocks occured within a span of four minutes after the quake itself.

Although scientists said the aftershocks may continue throughout the next few days, the chance of another 5.6 or greater magnitude earthquake occurring is only 5 to 10 percent.
  
"I can't emphasize enough that seismologists can't predict an earthquake," said USGS seismologist Tom Brocher.

Residents reported feeling the Tuesday night temblor as far east as Sacramento, as far north as Sebastapol and as far south as Monterey.

The strongest shaking was felt in east Santa Clara County. With this magnitude, it is not uncommon for those near the epicenter to witness items falling off shelves and windows breaking, Brocher said.
  
"This is a reminder that we all live in earthquake country in the Bay Area and that we must be prepared," said Brocher.

The epicenter of the quake was in the Diablo Range foothills east of San Jose -- not far from the home of San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed. Pictures fell off the walls of Reed's house, but the mayor said there was no major damage there.

"It was a pretty strong ride here, a lot of shaking but nothing broken," Reed told CBS 5. "I've talked to a few people and the damage in the city was relatively minor. There was a lot of shaking, but it wasn't the big one."

The San Jose Fire Department fielded a numbers of calls about gas leaks and broken water pipes, but Capt. Craig Schwinge said there were no reports of fires. Phone service was also cut for a time in scattered locales in the South Bay.

At McKee's Liquor Store in San Jose, bottles of wine came tumbling off store shelves -- some shattering when they hit the floor.

"The only report of any damage we have is light damage, such as things falling off the shelf in San Jose," said Greg Renick, a spokesman for the state Office of Emergency Services.

The California Highway Patrol said it had received no reports of damage or injury elsewhere.

"When it first hit, we thought a truck might have hit our building," dispatcher Bob Redding said from the CHP dispatch center office in the Central Valley town of Atwater, 70 miles east of the epicenter. "But it was just one jerk."

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. reported no power outages or services affected in the Bay Area, including Santa Clara County, said spokesman JD Guidi.  He added that gas distribution was unaffected as well.

Bay Area Rapid Transit, which runs underground and aboveground trains throughout the region, said all were stopped for five minutes after the quake occurred. Train operators were then instructed to run trains at half their normal speed, and look out the windows and perform track inspections at every stop.

"There's no damage so far and we're not anticipating any," said BART spokesman Linton Johnson. He said trains ran five to seven minutes behind before getting back on schedule later in the evening.

A representative of Caltrain, which runs light rail between Silicon Valley and San Francisco, said all trains were stopped as soon as the earthquake hit, and they were running at restricted speeds afterwards.

Aaron McLear, a spokesman for California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, said the state would "will review and inspect all important infrastructure," including levees in the coming days.
  
Earthquakes powerful enough to be felt through the Central Valley have been of increasing concern since Hurricane Katrina because of their potential to weaken the earthen levees that channel rivers throughout the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

The intensity of the shaking from Tuesday night's temblor sent many South Bay residents diving under desks and running outside onto sidewalks.

Amrit Shergill, a night cashier at Alum Rock Shell gasoline station in San Jose, said there was no damage other than some small items that toppled off a shelf -- but the intensity of the shaking sent her outside and crouching on the sidewalk.
  
"My God, I felt like running because the roof might come down on my head," said Shergill, who was born in India. "I've never felt anything like this in 16 years in the United States."

Rod Foo, a resident of south San Jose, about 10 miles from the epicenter, said everything in his house shook for several seconds, but the electricity never went out and his telephone was still working.
  
"I could hear it coming up the street before it hit the house," said Foo, a former reporter with the San Jose Mercury News. "I thought it was the kids messing around at first, then I felt the house shaking and I knew it was an earthquake. ... It was rattling for a long time and really loud."

Allison Guimard, 25, a technology executive who lives in Mountain View, about 18 miles west of the epicenter, said her china started shaking and she grabbed a dog. It was the first significant earthquake for Guimard and her husband, Pierre, who moved here from New York six months ago.
  
"It felt like the apartment was rolling -- shaking and rolling," said Pierre Guimard, 25, a home entertainment installer. "Almost like a boat on the water."

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