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California earthquake: 6.0 tremor causes damage in Napa and Sonoma California earthquake: 6.0 tremor hits Napa and Sonoma wine country
(35 minutes later)
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.0 struck California’s northern San Francisco Bay area early on Sunday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said. A large earthquake rolled through California’s northern Bay Area early on Sunday, damaging some buildings, knocking out power to thousands and sending residents running out of their homes in the darkness.
The earthquake struck just before 3.30am, about 10 miles northwest of American Canyon, which is about six miles southwest of Napa, in California wine country, Leslie Gordon of the USGS said. The extent of the damage wasn’t immediately clear. Two major injuries were reported and hospitals have been busy with moderate injuries, Napa Division fire chief John Callanan said.
Randy Baldwin, a USGS geophysicist, said the tremor was potentially damaging because it was close to populated areas. He added that the USGS was starting to receive reports of some damage in the city of Napa, mostly masonry and some structural damage, as well as power outages. The 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck just before 3.30am about 10 miles northwest of American Canyon, which is about six miles southwest of Napa, in California wine country, Leslie Gordon of the US Geological Survey (USGS) said. It was the largest earthquake to shake the Bay Area since the 6.9 magnitude Loma Prieta quake in 1989, the USGS said.
“It is the strongest quake in a 60-mile radius from the epicentre of this quake in several decades,” Baldwin said. “There’s collapses, fires,” said Napa fire captain Doug Bridewell, standing in front of large pieces of masonry that broke loose from a turn-of-the-century office building where a fire had just been extinguished. “That’s the worst shaking I’ve ever been in.”
Reuters reporters in Oakland felt the quake as a long, low swell that shook gently for several seconds. Bridewell, who said he had to climb over fallen furniture in his own home to check on his family before reporting to duty, said he was starting to see more reports of injuries.
“It was a shallow quake and there are lots of aftershocks,” Baldwin said, adding most such shocks were around magnitude 2 range. The shaking emptied cabinets in homes and store shelves, set off car alarms and had residents of neighbouring Sonoma County running out of their houses. Officials said widespread power outages had been reported in the area.
“It was a rolling quake, said Oakland resident Rich Lieberman. “It started very much like a rolling sensation and just got progressively worse in terms of length. Not so much in terms of shaking, but it did shake. It felt like a side-to-side kind of rolling sensation. Nothing violent but extremely lengthy and extremely active.”
The USGS said the depth of the earthquake was just less than seven miles, and numerous small aftershocks had occurred in the Napa wine country.
“A quake of that size in a populated area is of course widely felt throughout that region,” said Randy Baldwin, a geophysicist with the USGS in Golden, Colorado. “The 6.0 is a sizeable quake for this area. It’s a shallow quake. It’s about six miles deep. We received hundreds of reports on our website from people that felt it in the surrounding area.”
Aftershocks can continue for the next several weeks and experts will watch their distribution to determine if this quake happened on a fault line, Baldwin said.Aftershocks can continue for the next several weeks and experts will watch their distribution to determine if this quake happened on a fault line, Baldwin said.
Local CBS news said several fires had broken out in Napa. A safety dispatcher for several cities, including American Canyon and Napa, said there were reports of people losing power. In Napa, a water main break left at least one street flooded, and power outages left streetlights dark. Numerous emergency vehicles were on the roads in Napa and Sonoma counties. In Napa, a water main break left at least one street flooded, and power outages left streetlights dark. Local CBS news said several fires had broken out. Reuters reporters in Oakland felt the quake as a long, low swell that shook gently for several seconds.
The shaking set off car alarms and had residents of Sonoma County running out of their houses in the middle of night. Officials said widespread power outages have been report in Sonoma County. A California highway patrol officer, Daniel Hill, told KTVU-TV road damage appears confined to the Napa and Sonoma areas. He said there appeared to be no damage to major bridges in the Bay Area.
“They are in pretty good shape,” he said, noting that a couple of the roadways in the Napa-Sonoma area had some bumps and cracks.
“Oh I felt it. When I woke up I was lying on the floor. It kicked me out of bed,” said Keith, a man who lives in Napa and who wanted to be identified only by his first name. He said he went right into his job at the front desk of a Napa hotel, leaving his house in disorder.“Oh I felt it. When I woke up I was lying on the floor. It kicked me out of bed,” said Keith, a man who lives in Napa and who wanted to be identified only by his first name. He said he went right into his job at the front desk of a Napa hotel, leaving his house in disorder.
“The house is a mess, everything is out of the cabinets in the kitchen. Dressers tipped over.”“The house is a mess, everything is out of the cabinets in the kitchen. Dressers tipped over.”
Numerous emergency vehicles were on the roads in Napa and Sonoma counties. A California highway patrol officer, Daniel Hill, told KTVU-TV road damage appeared confined to the Napa and Sonoma areas. He said there appeared to be no damage to major bridges in the Bay Area.
“They are in pretty good shape,” he said, noting that a couple of the roadways in the Napa-Sonoma area have some bumps and cracks.
Police dispatchers in San Francisco and Oakland said there were no reports of major damage.
It is the largest earthquake to shake the Bay Area since the 6.9 magnitude Loma Prieta quake in 1989, the USGS said.
“It was a rolling quake, said Oakland resident Rich Lieberman. “It started very much like a rolling sensation and just got progressively worse in terms of length. Not so much in terms of shaking, but it did shake. It felt like a side-to-side kind of rolling sensation. Nothing violent but extremely lengthy and extremely active.”
The USGS said the depth of the earthquake was just less than seven miles, and numerous small aftershocks have occurred in the Napa wine country.
“A quake of that size in a populated area is of course widely felt throughout that region,” said Baldwin. “The 6.0 is a sizeable quake for this area. It’s a shallow quake. It’s about six miles deep. We received hundreds of reports on our website from people that felt it in the surrounding area.”
There was no immediate report of injuries.