West Coast Earthquakes

Minor Earthquake Shakes San Francisco

2009-10-13T20:37:00.000-07:00

8:30 PM - Tuesday October 13, 2009

An Earthquake with a magnitude of 3.7 has occurred area near Pleasanton, southeast of San Francisco.

The quake struck at 8:27 PM local time and was felt throughout the bay area and as far south as Gilroy.

No damage or injuries have been reported.

3.8 Earthquake Recorded off the Coast of Southern California

2009-10-08T01:15:00.000-07:00

October 7, 2009

A shallow earthquake measuring 3.8 on the richter scale occurred near San Clemente Island. This is due west of San Diego.

The earthquake struck at 8:31 in the evening local time. No damage and no injuries were reported as a result of this quake. The quake was felt in parts of southern Orange county and coastal sections of San Diego counties.

5.1 Shakes Central California

2009-10-01T03:18:00.000-07:00

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 has struck the Central California region near Owens Lake, about 50 miles north of Ridgecrest. The quake struck at 3:01 AM local time and was immediately followed by several small aftershocks. Largest reported aftershock has been a 3.3 at 3:03 am.

This area is prone to earthquakes of this size. Damage and injuries have not been reported and are not expected due to the remote location and sparse population.

Past Magnitude 5.0+ earthquakes in the same area

5.2 July 17, 2001
5.0 March 7, 1998
5.2 March 6, 1998
5.3 November 27, 1996

3.9 Quake Shakes Fontana and the Inland Empire

2008-03-09T13:46:00.000-07:00

An earthquake with a magnitude of 3.9 occurred about 4 miles north of Fontana. It struck at 1:22 a.m. Local time on March 9, 2008. An aftershock measuring 3.1 occurred about a minute later.

A quake of this size is not expected to cause damage or injuries. It was widely felt throughout the Inland Empire, Riverside and parts of Los Angeles and Orange counties.

Quakes in this area are not uncommon. A 4.4 in January of 2005 was preceded by several smaller foreshocks.

LOCATION MAP (click to enlarge):

6.0 Nevada Earthquake

2008-02-22T02:13:00.000-08:00

A strong 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck a sparsely-populated region of northern Nevada on Thursday, damaging buildings and rupturing water and gas mains. Fortunately there were no serious injuries reported.

Here is a wide view of the immediate area followed by a closer view (click to enlarge).

NEWS REPORT

QUAKE FOOTAGE

A lot of people ask why the clips in this video stop just as the shaking starts. The reason is because the electricity went out and the recordings stopped.

Baja Continues to Shake

2008-02-12T03:08:00.000-08:00

The sequence of earthquakes coming out of Northern Baja is quite impressive and is not showing any signs of slowing down. It resembles an aftershock sequence you might see after a 6+ earthquake. But there was no 6+ earthquake. In fact, the quake which started this was only a 5.4.

The quake was originally posted as a 5.4 and later downgraded to a 5.1. There is still some debate over the true magnitude of this quake. It will take some time to determine the actual magnitude. It should be somewhere between 5.1 and 5.5.

As of the time of this report the 5.4 quake has been followed by at least 35 aftershocks with a magnitude of 3.0 or greater. Five have been greater than 4.0 and two have been 5.0 or greater. In total there have been over 200 aftershocks.

How does this compare with previous quakes in the area? Data from previous years shows that in May of 2006 a 5.4 earthquake produced 16 aftershocks of 3.0 or greater. In February of 2002 a 5.7 quake in the same area produced nearly fifty 3.0+ aftershocks.

The question that I'm sure everyone is asking is whether something bigger and more destructive is on the way. Nobody can say for sure. The 5.7 quake in 2002 was preceded by increased seismic activity which started in December of 2001.

It is always best to be prepared. Plan as if a stronger quake is on the way. Make sure you are prepared by having a supply of bottled water and non-perishable food. Always sleep with a pair of shoes and a flash light near your bed. Make sure there are no loose items or furniture that could fall and hurt someone.

It's a good idea to always be prepared. The mainshock is usually the largest and most destructive, and waiting until after the mainshock to get prepared is a bad idea.

Here is a link for more tips on how to prepare for an earthquake and what to do after one strikes.ALWAYS BE PREPARED

Here is our latest image showing the region affected by these quakes (click on it to enlarge):

Two 6.5 Quakes Rock Vancouver Island

2008-01-05T04:10:00.000-08:00

The area between Vancouver Island and Queen Charlotte Islands off the west coast of British Columbia was the location of two quakes. The first, a 5.3, struck at 2:39 am Saturday morning and the second and much stronger 6.5 quake struck about 20 minutes later at 3:01 am.

To soon to know if there is any significant damage or injuries. The quake was about 75 KM (48 miles) off the southern tip of Kunghit Island, which is part of the Queen Charlotte Islands.

The quakes were about 155 KM (95 miles) north-northwest of Scott Islands, Just north of Vancouver Island. This location is about 575 miles NNW of Seattle Washington.

A 6.5 earthquake is not likely to produce any damaging tsunamis.

As I'm typing this, a second 6.5 quake has been reported in the same area. This new quake truck at 3:44 AM. I will update the maps later today, when more information becomes available.

4.0 Quake shakes Washington State

2007-11-27T02:15:00.000-08:00

A 4.0 quake shook the Olympic Peninsula Monday evening. The quake was felt widely through the area. So far there have been no reports of injuries or damage.

The quake struck at 10:18 in the evening (11/26/07) near Brinnon, which is about 30 miles west of Seattle.

A 3.2 earthquake occurred in the same area this last January. Both quakes are shown on the following map images.

The first (left) is a regional view of the area, and the second (right) is a closer view (click to see full size).

Strong Shake Felt in Northern California

2007-10-30T22:40:00.000-07:00

An Earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.6 has shaken an area northeast of San Jose. The quake occurred at 8:04 PM local time on 10/30/07.

The quake was centered in a remote section of the Calaveras Valley about three miles southeast of the Calaveras Reservoir. This location is about 7 miles east of Milpitas, 9 miles northeast of San Jose, 14 miles southeast of Freemont.

At this time there has been no reports of injuries or damage. This may change as information regarding the quake is still coming in.

CLICK HERE for the latest information and discussion regarding this quake.

4.5 Earthquake hits Los Angeles area

2007-08-24T00:24:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A small earthquake hit the northern Los Angeles area just before 1 a.m. (4 a.m. EDT) on Thursday (August 9, 2007), waking residents across a broad swathe of the area, but there were no immediate reports of significant damage.

The 4.5 preliminary magnitude quake was centered 4.1 miles north-northwest of the suburb of Chatsworth, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was extremely shallow, at only 3 miles deep.

Residents reported a strong jolt, followed by a lot of shaking. Some said pictures fell off walls, water sloshed around in toilets, and television sets wobbled on cabinets. A police spokesman said the quake triggered hundreds of alarms.

It was followed by two aftershocks, both with a preliminary 1.6 magnitude.

Chatsworth is just six miles west of Northridge, the epicenter of the magnitude 6.7 quake that killed 57 people and injured more than 9,000 in 1994.

4.3 quake felt near Watsonville

2007-07-02T14:49:00.000-07:00

UPDATED 7/2/07

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.3 struck the Watsonville area monday afternoon. The quake struck at 12:58 PM and was felt throughout the region and up into the San Francisco bay area.

There have been no injuries and damage has been limited to a few items falling off store shelves.

Two smaller quakes occured in this area last week. CLICK HERE to read our report on those quakes.

If you felt this earthquake and would like to share your story (or read other accounts), please check our message board.

Don't forget to check out our 2007 quake map to see other Northern California quakes in 2007. Our list of previous years quakes can be found on the right side of our web site.

Small Quakes Rattle Watsonville

2007-06-27T22:22:00.000-07:00

UPDATED: 7/2/07

A new 4.3 quake has been reported in this area. CLICK HERE for our special report.

Residents in Watsonville were shaken by a series of small quakes late this afternoon. The three quakes, measuring 3.0, 3.2 and 3.0, all occurred within 15 minutes of each other.

The earthquakes were felt within the Watsonville and surrounding communities. The shaking has been described as a gentle rumbling ending in a sharp jolt.

If you felt this earthquake and would like to share your story (or read other accounts), please check our message board.

Be sure to check out our 2007 quake map to see other Northern California quakes in 2007. Our list of previous years quakes can be found on the right side of our web site.

Powerful Earthquake Off the coast of Papua New Guinea

2007-06-27T21:08:00.000-07:00

A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.7 has occured off Bougainville Island.

The following is a release by the United States Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information Center: An earthquake occurred about 220 km (135 miles) SSW of Arawa, Bougainville, PNG or about 825 km (520 miles) E of PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea at 8:52 PM MDT, Jun 27, 2007 (Jun 28 at 12:52 PM local time in Papua New Guinea). The magnitude and location may be revised when additional data and further analysis results are available. There have been no reports of damage.

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WIKI:
The Bougainville Province, also known as North Solomons Province, is an autonomous province in Papua New Guinea and is the largest of the Solomon Islands group. The largest island is Bougainville Island, and the capital is Arawa. The province also includes the adjacent island of Buka and assorted outlying islands including the Carterets. The population of the province is 175,160 (2000 census). Bougainville Island is ecologically and geographically, although not politically, part of the Solomon Islands. Buka, Bougainville, and most of the Solomons are part of the Solomon Islands rain forests ecoregion. MORE

Strong quake jolts southern part of Java

2007-06-26T22:08:00.000-07:00

Deutsche Presse-Agentur

Jakarta - A 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck the southern part of Indonesia's Java island Wednesday morning, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage, an official said.

The tremblor shook at about 5:23 am (2223 GMT Tuesday) and was centred in the Indonesian Sea 340 kilometres southwest of Cilacap district in southern coast of Central Java, said Anas, an official at the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency in Jakarta. He said the quake occurred at about 33-kilometres beneath the seabed.

Anas, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, said the quake was felt along a wide stretch of the southern Central Java coast, including the cultural city of Yogyakarta, but there were no reports of injuries or damage.

Yogyakarta and nearby regions has been struck by a powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake on late May 2006, killing more than 5,800 people, injuring thousands of others and destroying and heavily damaging tens of thousands of homes and buildings.

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago nation, is prone to earthquakes because the country sits atop Asia's so-called "Ring of Fire" where continental plates collide and earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are frequent.

Earthquake shakes Northern California Coast

2007-06-24T22:50:00.000-07:00

The Eureka Reporter - A magnitude 5.1 earthquake rattled parts of the North Coast Sunday at 7:32 p.m. The U.S. Geologic Survey indicated the temblor was located 41 miles northwest of Eureka at a depth of approximately 6.3 miles. There was no indication that the earthquake caused any major damage or injuries. According to the U.S. Geologic Survey’s 24-Hour Aftershock Forecast Map, as of 8 p.m. Sunday, there was a low probability of aftershocks occurring in the region.

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If you felt this quake and have a story to tell, come on over to our "Quake Stories" board to share and to read other stories about this quake.

Also, be sure to check out the 2007 Earthquake map to see this quake along with other signficant quakes of 2007.

Space Shuttle Brings Sonic Boom

2007-06-22T13:08:00.000-07:00

Many people accross Southern California reported feeling an earthquake shortly before 12:45 pm (west coast time). As it turns out the culprit was not an earthquake, it in fact was the expected sonic boom caused by the return of the Space Shuttle Atlantis.

The shuttle was expected to land in Florida, but due to bad weather the landing was changed to Edwards Air Force Base in the Southern California desert.

The shuttle's path to the base took it over San Diego and Los Angeles before landing smoothly at 12:49 pm.

Small quake shakes Tennessee

2007-06-19T22:44:00.000-07:00

It has been in the works for quite a while: "On the morning of June 19, Tennessee will experience a 7.7 magnitude earthquake inside the New Madrid Seismic Zone near Memphis." What they weren't counting on was a Real quake to strike Tennessee that day.

Tuesday June 19th is the start of one of the states largest emergency response drills. While the main focus of the simulation is the New Madrid Seismic Zone near Memphis, a real earthquake was being felt 170 miles east near the small town of Spencer (about 50 miles North of Chattanooga).

Although the quake was not widely felt, it is a constant reminder that earthquakes can occur at anytime and anyplace and they don't always strike along active fault lines. Tuesdays quake measured 3.3 and occurred at 1:16 PM local time.

If you think that earthquakes never happen in this area, you may be interested in this map which shows all earthquakes in the area (since 1970) with a magnitude of 2.5 or greater.

Here is the map showing the specific location of this quake

Earthquakes Continue in Northern Oregon

2007-06-14T23:26:00.000-07:00

The area between Kent, Oregon and Maupin, Oregon has seen steady quake activity since December of 2006. The quakes have been in a concentrated area about 8 miles ESE of Maupin.

Most of the quakes are small and have not been felt. Quakes of this size usually go unnoticed by most. However, this sequence, now in its seventh month, has raised eyebrows because this kind of consistent quake activity has never been recorded in this location.

On Thursday afternoon, the strongest quake of the sequence was recorded. The 3.9 quake was the strongest in the region since a 4.2 earthquake in November of 1976.

CLICK HERE to view a special report showing all quakes in the area since 1976.

6.8 Earthquake off the Coast of Guatemala

2007-06-13T12:55:00.000-07:00

The following is a release by the United States Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information Center: An earthquake occurred 115 km (70 miles) SSW of GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala at 1:29 PM MDT, Jun 13, 2007 (1:29 PM local time in Guatemala). The magnitude and location may be revised when additional data and further analysis results are available. No reports of damage or casualties have been received at this time; however, this earthquake may have caused damage due to its location and size.

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From the Associated Press
1:43 PM PDT, June 13, 2007

GUATEMALA CITY -- A powerful earthquake shook Guatemala on today, U.S. seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries in the capital.

The magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck at 1:29 p.m. local time (3:29 p.m. EDT) and was centered 70 miles southwest of Guatemala City off the Pacific coast, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Firefighters in Guatemala City said they had no immediate reports of injury or damage.

Radio Sonora reported that houses were damaged along the Pacific coast, with mudslides in several areas. But firefighters in several coastal communities, including Santa Rosa and Escluintla, told The Associated Press they had received no reports of damage.

The quake was felt in neighboring El Salvador, where people ran into the streets in the capital of San Salvador.

Carlos Lopez, a spokesman for the Red Cross in El Salvador, said there were no immediate reports of major damage in that country.

The region is prone to earthquakes. One of Guatemala's most devastating quakes was in 1976 when nearly 23,000 people died.

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This report will be updated as new information is received

Here are two maps showing the location. The first is a wide view, the second a closer view. (click on image full size image)

Moderate Quake Near Mammoth Lakes

2007-06-12T22:25:00.000-07:00

Aftershocks continue after a 4.6 earthquake shook the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Central California early Tuesday morning. The quake struck just after 12:20am (Pacific Coast time). So far there have been more than 160 aftershocks. Four of the aftershocks have been 3.0 or higher, with the largest being 3.6. The quake was preceeded by a 3.6 foreshock.

Hundreds of people throughout central California and Western Nevada have reported feeling the quake. Some of the stronger aftershocks have been felt by people in the vicinity of the epicenter.

The map here shows the area affected by this series of earthquakes.

This region of the Sierra Nevada's is very familiar with earthquakes. The last strong quake to register above 5.0 was back on May 15, 1999. When the area experienced a 5.6 quake. Even stronger damaging quakes ocurred in 1980.

Explore our Northern California historical Quake maps located on the right side of our website to see quakes in this area over the years.

3.5 Aftershock West of Frazier Park

2007-06-06T02:37:00.000-07:00

Tuesday's 3.5 earthquake was an aftershock to the 3.7 quake which shook the region early Monday morning. Both quakes, along with several smaller aftershocks, are occuring along a segment of the San Andreas fault near the Grapevine.

Anthony Guarino with the Southern California Seismic Network reports that this quake may have been felt in Valencia, Gorman, Castaic, and surrounding communities.

There were no reports of damage or injuries.

This map shows where these quakes occured in relation to the surrounding communties and it's proximity to the San Andreas fault. The orange quake on left is a 3.0 which occured on March 1st of this year.

A closer view of the quake area.

Earthquake in China kills two, injures 200

2007-06-02T20:34:00.000-07:00

Asia-Pacific News

Jun 3, 2007, 2:43 GMT

Beijing - A strong earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale struck an area of south-western China's Yunnan province early Sunday, destroying houses, killing at least two people and injuring more than 200.

The epicentre of the quake at 5:34 a.m. (2134 GMT Saturday) was at 23.0 degrees north and 101.1 degrees east near Yunnan's Pu'er city, near the border with Myanmar, state media quoted the China Earthquake Administration as saying.

There were reports of damage and casualties in the old town of Pu'er, and by mid-morning local officials had confirmed two people dead and more than 200 injured, 15 of them seriously, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Rescue teams were sent to the affected area to assess the damage and help victims, the agency said.

The US Geological Survey said the quake struck at a depth of 10 kilometres.

4.2 Quake Hits Southern California Desert

2007-06-01T23:03:00.000-07:00

A quake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.2 struck the lower Southern California Desert Friday Night. The quake was widely felt from the deserts to the coast, and even reports that it was felt as far away as Phoenix Arizona, some 250 miles away. Nearly 2,000 felt reports were filed within the first hour of the quake.

If the felt reports are accurate, it's my experience that this quake's magnitude will be upgraded sometime soon.

Click on the picture above to see exactly where this quake struck, along with other quakes in the area that have occurred in 2007.

Small Earthquake Shakes California-Mexico Border

2007-05-31T21:57:00.001-07:00

Associated Press - June 1, 2007 12:04 AM ET

OCOTILLO, Calif. (AP) - A small earthquake has rattled a desert town near the US-Mexico border, but there are no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

A preliminary report from the US Geological Survey says the magnitude-3.9 temblor struck at 7:08 pm. It was centered eight miles southwest of Ocotillo, about ten miles north of the border.

A dispatcher with the Imperial County Sheriff's Department says there are no reports of injuries or damage.

Small Quakes Rattle Lakeview, Oregon

2007-05-30T22:43:00.000-07:00

Two small quakes rattled the California Oregon border near Lakeview, Oregon this evening. The two tremors, registering 3.4 and 3.0 on the richter scale struck right around 7:00 local time on May 30, 2007.

The following two maps show where these quakes occurred. These quakes are preliminary, and their location and magnitudes may change as new data is reviewed.

CLICK HERE to see where this quake struck. (291kb image)

CLICK HERE for an even closer view. (304kb image)

I have prepared a special report showing a map and a list of all quakes in this area, going back to 1982. CLICK HERE to view the special report.

I will revise this report as needed.