3.9 Magnitude Earthquake Rocks San Francisco Bay Area: 'You Could Feel It Coming'

Janine Puhak
·2 min read
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A magnitude 3.9 earthquake shook up the San Francisco Bay Area on Monday night at 6:29 local time, in a quake felt across the region. As of Tuesday morning, no injuries or damages have been reported, according to the San Francisco Fire Department.

The U.S. Geological Survey identified San Lorenzo as the earthquake's epicenter, in a shock rated as a 4.2, before being downgraded to 4.0 and ultimately 3.9, the Associated Press reported.

The outlet clarified that Ashland, near San Lorenzo, was initially named as the epicenter, per the geological survey.

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Rattling the Bay Area, the earthquake was felt from San Francisco to Castro Valley through the East Bay, according to ABC7 News.

Vicky Esquivel was watching TV at home in Hayward, about three miles from the epicenter, when the quake struck, and said it felt surreal.

"It was almost like you could feel it coming," she told ABC7, adding that it felt like someone drove into her house with a "big truck."

"I felt like my house was going to fall off the foundation," Esquivel said. "I was so scared and then I just screamed and ran into the living room and my husband and I both looked at each other and said 'earthquake.' "

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The earthquake struck at a depth of 9.2 kilometers, per the U.S. Geological Survey. The tremors automatically delayed the Bay Area's BART public transportation system through the ShakeAlert system for 10 minutes.

Robert de Groot, a USGS Shake Alert project scientist, called the quake "a garden variety California earthquake," but stressed that it serves as an important reminder in emergency preparedness for those on the West Coast.