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5.2 Earthquake Shakes Up SF Bay Area

Joe Kaz wrote in (along with a number of other concerned folks): "There was a 5.2 Earthquake in Gilroy, CA, 70 miles south of San Francisco. The epicenter was 4.7 miles below surface. It lasted for about 10 seconds, and it did seem like a long time. Everything shook for a while, and it was a little scary. No reports of damage yet. Hope everyone is ok." I've got a report from my sisters father-in-law in gilroy (the epicenter) and he barely noticed it. Nate Oostendorp noted that "My stereo shook a little" in Walnut Creek. The SF Gate story on the quake notes that there are some phones out in some small parts of San Jose. The usgs has an event monitoring page if you are interested.

19 of 587 comments (clear)

  1. Damage Report from New Jersey.. by Loki_1929 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Didn't feel a thing. No apparent damage. No injuries. Carry on.

    --
    -- "Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else."
  2. 5.2 is not so scary by ObviousGuy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Until an earthquake's magnitude rises above 6.5, it's really not so bad.

    Buildings that cannot withstand a 5.2 earthquake should be investigated.

    --
    I have been pwned because my /. password was too easy to guess.
    1. Re:5.2 is not so scary by Loki_1929 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Buildings that cannot withstand a 5.2 earthquake should be investigated.

      What's to investigate? The pile of rubble?
      Here, I shall provide you with a thorough investigation report:

      engineer1: "Shit, that was only a 5.2, and that building collapsed. I didn't even spill my coffee."

      engineer2: "Gee, sucks to be them. Oh well."

      engineer1: "Want to grab a burger?"

      engineer2: "Ok."

      --
      -- "Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else."
  3. Oh, just a 5.2? by hackman · · Score: 5, Funny

    No worries, seen worse. Be a good Californian and go back to bed.

    Heh. Course I live in Oregon now so I bet if they had a 5.2 out here everyone would be out on the street talking about how scared they were.

    --
    __ No registration required to read this message. They did it in the Matrix.
  4. Reporting your observations by zavyman · · Score: 4, Informative

    If you felt the quake, or if you were in the area and didn't feel it, be sure to record your observations here so that the data can be displayed and analyzed.

    It's amazing to see 700 responses be recorded in about 20 some minutes, and more data just helps the cause of the USGS. It was minor up here near the bay, but hey, it was my first :) You can access the current map as well.

  5. report your experiences to the USGS by molo · · Score: 5, Informative


    http://pasadena.wr.usgs.gov/shake/ca/STORE/X4013 33 64/ciim_form.html

    Go there if you are in the area of the quake. Report what you felt. Don't make shit up, don't troll the USGS.

    I felt some moderate shaking. Biggest quake I've ever been in, but I just moved to Palo Alto from New York. Neat, but scary.

    --
    Using your sig line to advertise for friends is lame.
    1. Re:report your experiences to the USGS by yomahz · · Score: 4, Funny


      Go there if you are in the area of the quake. Report what you felt. Don't make shit up, don't troll the USGS


      Hmmm.. you just told the trolls on /. not to go troll the USGS. I feel sorry for those guys tonight :) Smooth move.

      --
      "A mind is a terrible thing to taste."
    2. Re:report your experiences to the USGS by nettdata · · Score: 5, Funny

      I felt some moderate shaking.

      Don't worry... I've felt some shaky moderation myself.

      Oh, wait...

      --



      $0.02 (CDN)
  6. It was felt at the hockey game by Erbo · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Fox Sports Net broadcasters John Kelly and Peter McNab sure felt that one from the broadcast booth of the Compaq Center (soon to be the "HP Pavilion") in San Jose, where the Colorado Avalanche were dueling with the San Jose Sharks in a hotly-contested playoff game (Game 6, Sharks led series 3-2).

    The quake hit in the 3rd period, while the Avs and Sharks were tied 1-1 (both goals having come in the 2nd, within 30 seconds of one another). It may have jolted the announcers, but it sure didn't faze goaltenders Evgeni Nabokov or Patrick Roy, who never let anything through in that period. The game was finally decided in OT, on a goal by Avs forward Peter "The Great" Forsberg, winning the game 2-1 and sending the series back to Pepsi Center in Denver for Game 7.

    GO AVS!

    --
    Be who you are...and be it in style!
  7. Yup, I felt it too by Eugenia+Loli · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I am in Foster City, 75 km away from the Epicenter. Yup, I felt it. First thing I did was to shout "Sweetieeee, wake up!" to my husband who has *just* gone to sleep. But it only lasted for 10 secs or so, so it was not too bad.

    In Greece I've seen worse that this quake.

    And in fact, I was feeling like it would be a quake today. In Greece, (older) people have three things to undedify earthquakes that are going to happen in the next few hours:
    1. If the climate is unsusally dryly hot and it feels weird to your.. ears (there is an unusual sound of silence, a low pitch sound that masks the other small sounds). It is a different sort of heat. It is like humid heat, but very dry at the same time. I can't explain it better in words, sorry.
    2. If for some weird reason, while you just sit somewhere fine and daddy, your ear just "blocks", like it does when water gets inside when you are in the bath or something.
    3. If the dogs just bark all day, and no matter what you do to them, they just don't stop barking.

    At least these are the ways older people in Greece get a clue about nature's surprises.

    1. Re:Yup, I felt it too by Vess+V. · · Score: 4, Funny
      Yup, I felt it. First thing I did was to shout "Sweetieeee, wake up!" to my husband who has *just* gone to sleep. But it only lasted for 10 secs or so, so it was not too bad.

      Heh heh... gotta love out-of-context excerpts.

  8. Here's a better title by xant · · Score: 5, Funny

    5.2 Earthquake Barely Nudges San Francisco

    Are we going to start reporting heavy rainfall in Hawaii next?

    --
    It's rare that you're presented with a knob whose only two positions are Make History and Flee Your Glorious Destiny.
  9. Story Time by Monkelectric · · Score: 5, Funny
    please reply with your funny earthquake stories :)

    here's mine, northridge earthquake, I dont remember exactly the date, but I wsa playing Wing Commander I or II, I dont remember which, and I had *just* blown up some huge ass ship, a carrier I think -> My speakers are blasting the sound of the ship exploding, and at that percise moment the earthquake begins, and as the ground begins to rumble Im thinking, "holy shit thats a great sound effect", then I realize whats going on and dash to the doorframe where your supposed to be in an earthquake. I think I ended up loosing the level to, got attacked while my ship was unmanned :)

    --

    Religion is a gateway psychosis. -- Dave Foley

  10. earthquake newbie, 7th floor hotel room by mjh · · Score: 4, Insightful
    I normally occupy the East Coast, but I'm traveling on businesss, and an earthquake is a strange experience for me. But I definately felt it. Basically, from up here on the 7th floor, in Walnut Creek, it felt like someone took the room and was rocking it back and forth. The amount of motion was very small, and very gentle. But the fact that the entire room was moving was very strange and disquieting.

    I've often said, as an east coaster, that I'd like to feel an earthquake. Well now that I have, I have two reactions.

    1. Not nearly as exciting as I'd anticipated it would be.
    2. Not nearly as calm as I'd anticipated I would be.

    IOW, I was scared more than was appropriate for the size of this thing. Thank GOD that they make the building able to survive this kind of thing. As I think about it, the fact that an 8 story building was gently rocking back and forth (probably about 1/2 inch in both directions), and didn't fall is pretty amazing.

    Want to simulate it? Have someone go up to your wheeled chair and wiggle it back and forth at a rate of about 3-4Hz. Now, imagine that the desk that you're leaning on, and the floor that you have your feet on is also moving.

    --
    Key to financial independence: Spend less than you earn. Save and invest the difference. Do it for a long time.
  11. Earthquake / disaster / Burning Man kit ready? by geekotourist · · Score: 5, Informative
    If you felt it- you know that feeling you had at the 14th second, as you were starting to wonder if this was a big one, thinking about those 32 remaining (or at least ambulatory) survivors of the 60 second long 1906 quake (estimated 8.3), and then it stopped... the Sharks game wasn't even interrupted. But we know that sometime over the next 30 years, it'll start up the same, and then get worse.

    So, just as daylight savings time supposedly reminds us to change our smoke detector batteries (because otherwise that annoying 'low battery' beeping always start at 4am), tiny earthquakes remind us about our earthquake kits and preparation. Includes...

    • 3+ days of food, water, clothing, tools (ability to turn off the gas if needed) flashlights etc etc.
    • especially if you're female: comfortable clothing in your car, with a good change of shoes (vs hiking in high heels)
    • knowing where your important papers and backup disks are (some sites advise having copies in a bag you can grab on the way out), and having copies in a safe / safety deposit box.
    • cell phone always charged and gas tank always at least 1/2 full

    And unless you live in Scottsdale, AZ, don't feel smug about the safety of your own location- St. Louis has had an 8.0, and New York State has seen 6.0's.

  12. True Story by commodoresloat · · Score: 5, Funny

    LA a couple years ago, about 4AM, a long roller, centered around Joshua Tree if I recall correctly.... I had just fallen asleep in the arms of a hottie I had met the night before.... The quake woke us up and kept going, and we wound up huddling naked under the doorway scared but aroused. When the shaking finally stopped, the phone rang.

    It was my girlfriend, who called to see if I was OK.

    I've never been so fucking busted.

  13. Epicenter vs. Focus by Guppy06 · · Score: 4, Informative

    I'm probably not the first person to say it, but...

    "The epicenter was 4.7 miles below surface."

    BUZZ! Wrong! The epicenter is by definition on the surface. The focus is what was 4.7 miles below the surface.

    Now then, why is this particular earthquake generating news (just another Californian earthquake), but the one in New York state a few weeks ago didn't?

  14. no subject by Graspee_Leemoor · · Score: 5, Funny

    I submitted this story three weeks ago but it was rejected.

    graspee

  15. You know you've been in California too long... by Nyckname · · Score: 4, Funny

    when you not only refer to the geologists they interview on the news after earthquakes by their first names only, but you have your favorite.

    cheers