Thousands of Bay Area residents were jolted awake Monday by a moderate earthquake that was felt widely across the region. The 4.3-magnitude quake hit shortly before 3 a.m. Monday just east-southeast of Berkeley, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
No injuries or major damage was reported, but some businesses said windows were broken and merchandise tumbled from shelves. BART trains ran with delays for several hours as crews made safety inspections of the tracks systemwide. BART said trains returned to regular service around midday.
“Things were shaking in our newsroom,” posted Dave Clark, a news anchor for KTVU-TV. “It caught everyone off guard.”
People reported feeling shaking as far away as Salinas, about 100 miles (161 kilometers) to the south, according to media reports.
“As far as earthquakes go, this is kind of the ones where people feel them, but there’s not a whole lot of impacts to them,” said Brayden Murdock of the National Weather Service in Monterey.
The USGS said the last quake of a similar size near Berkeley was a magnitude 4.4 that hit on Jan. 4, 2018.
The epicenter of Monday’s shaker was near where the Hayward Fault runs, in the Elmwood area of Berkeley, at the intersection of Dwight Way and Piedmont Avenue, according to the USGS.
The earthquake had a depth of 4.8 miles. Many people were woken by the quake, with more than 24,000 saying they felt it, according to the USGS.
People posted online that they felt their homes shake. A few stores in Berkeley had minor damage.
Is your family prepared for an earthquake or similar emergency?
As it so happens, September is when the Federal Emergency Management Agency observes National Preparedness Month.
Here are a few things FEMA urges citizens to consider before the big one hits:
- Know your risk
- Know what could happen where you and your family live. This helps you figure out what you need to do to stay safe. You can explore various disasters and emergencies on Ready.gov.
- Make a family emergency plan
- Making a plan early helps you reduce stress and save time and money. Follow four easy steps and create a free Family Emergency Plan quickly and easily with their fillable form.
- Disasters are costly but preparing for them doesn’t have to be. Taking time to prepare now can help save you thousands of dollars and give you peace of mind when the next disaster or emergency occurs. Visit Ready.gov’s low and no-cost tip page to see how you can be better prepared without spending a lot of money.
- Build an emergency supply kit
- Having enough food, water and medicine can help you stay safe and comfortable until help arrives. Having what you need can also prevent injury and damage to your home.
- Build a go-bag with all the essentials you might need, so you don’t need to scramble in an evacuation situation. Find a list of supplies at Build A Kit.
- Get involved in your community by taking action to prepare for emergencies
- Emergencies can happen fast, and emergency responders aren’t always nearby. You may be able to save a life by taking simple actions immediately. You can learn these steps when you take a first aid class through many organizations in your community..
- Join a Community Emergency Response Team program and get trained on basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization and disaster medical operations.
- Take a free online independent study course through FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute or a CPR course through the American Red Cross to learn more about how to help your community become more prepared.
Contra Costa County also offers earthquake preparedness advice via a 10-page document packed with tips for what to do before, during and after an earthquake.
Did you feel Monday’s earthquake? Tell us in the comments below and report your experience to the USGS.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Richmondside will update this story if new information becomes available.
