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Two Sunday quakes were 'relatively shallow'

Original post made on Dec 19, 2010

The two Sunday earthquakes that jolted parts of the Midpeninsula and were centered in Los Altos occurred at a depth considered "relatively shallow" in the Bay Area -- 3.5 km (2.1 miles), a seismologist from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported Monday morning.

Read the full story here Web Link posted Monday, December 20, 2010, 12:22 PM

Comments (27)

Posted by nothing in midtown
a resident of Midtown
on Dec 19, 2010 at 9:51 am

I didn't feel anything.


Posted by Palo Verde Resident
a resident of Palo Verde
on Dec 19, 2010 at 9:52 am

Didn't feel it!


Posted by Palo Verde Resident
a resident of Palo Verde
on Dec 19, 2010 at 9:54 am

Didn't feel it! But, who has lost power?


Posted by Rose
a resident of Charleston Meadows
on Dec 19, 2010 at 9:54 am

I felt it--a mild rocking back and forth. I guess that it's time to double check my emergency water supplies. :)


Posted by Downtown condo
a resident of University South
on Dec 19, 2010 at 9:58 am

Felt it. It was a subtle but noticeable shake. I looked at the clock and it was 9:28.


Posted by Em
a resident of Mountain View
on Dec 19, 2010 at 10:14 am

Woke us up this morning! Exactly at 9:28. Felt like someone slammed the front door and the house vibrated for a second. Went to look up if there had been an earthquake because we couldn't really tell.


Posted by MC
a resident of Mountain View
on Dec 19, 2010 at 10:21 am

Felt it. I moved into a doorway for fear of a larger quake immediately after. Probably good to have these small quakes to release the pressure along the fault though.


Posted by Seacliffee
a resident of another community
on Dec 19, 2010 at 10:27 am

Noticed at Seacliff State Park, Aptos (Santa Cruz Co)- Thought it was a big Gust of wind when my RV rattled!


Posted by FeltitinLosAltos
a resident of Los Altos
on Dec 19, 2010 at 10:31 am

Does that map show the exact epicenter? It looks like it hit right by Andronicos on Foothill Xwy. Wonder if anything fell off of the shelves.


Posted by LA gardener
a resident of Los Altos
on Dec 19, 2010 at 10:49 am

I live near the epicenter and it felt a lot bigger than 3.1. Several big shakes and rumbles.


Posted by NicoleinPA
a resident of Palo Alto Hills
on Dec 19, 2010 at 10:58 am

I felt it, it woke me up. It felt like a jolt then a slight short rumble. It did not last long and it was mild. I also thought it might have been the wind.


Posted by Me neither
a resident of Palo Verde
on Dec 19, 2010 at 11:08 am

I did not feel it neither, but my dog did, she cried as she was in pain, and got nervous. I thought it was the wind.


Posted by Barely felt
a resident of Charleston Meadows
on Dec 19, 2010 at 11:28 am

So in conjunction with the minor earthquake there was last year, does this mean we can start to expect a lot more from the Monta Vista fault?


Posted by Resident
a resident of Los Altos Hills
on Dec 19, 2010 at 11:52 am

We felt it...whole house rattled...we live near 280-Page Mill...


Posted by Casper48
a resident of Mountain View
on Dec 19, 2010 at 12:12 pm

I live in a first floor condo in the PA/LA/MV triangle, and I felt it. There were two loud bangs -- I thought my neighbors had slammed their doors really hard -- until the shaking. This was the first time in my life I ran underneath a door jamb. According to USGS, it was felt as far as Boulder Creek and parts of Santa Cruz. Is Monta Vista a spur of San Andreas??


Posted by saleha
a resident of Old Palo Alto
on Dec 19, 2010 at 1:05 pm

First it sounded like someone slammed a door hard and then there was a sharp jolt...like somebody really heavy fell upstairs...I didn't feel any shaking though.


Posted by Just like it is
a resident of Greenmeadow
on Dec 19, 2010 at 4:19 pm

Made me choke on my oatmeal, after the dog barked and scared me! Yee Haw!!!!


Posted by nothing in midtown
a resident of Midtown
on Dec 19, 2010 at 7:14 pm

Didn't feel either one in midtown.


Posted by the watcher
a resident of another community
on Dec 19, 2010 at 11:30 pm

A friend of mine lives near the Nob Hill/Marshalls Mall on Grant Rd.
She says the 9:30am earthquake's jolt was felt in two short successions. The first jolt was heavier in that her dwelling actually shook. The duration of the EQ was less than 5 seconds. She reported no damage was done.


Posted by Mr. Big
a resident of Embarcadero Oaks/Leland
on Dec 20, 2010 at 1:12 am

Definite felt the first one and it's the closest epicenter of a quake I felt in memory.

I was on the second floor then heard a crack then the rumbling of the earth. I figured it was a low 3 at the time, I'm pretty good at guessing the Richter ratings since I've lived here my whole life.


Posted by Shake'n'Bake
a resident of Menlo Park
on Dec 20, 2010 at 9:44 am

Where I live, we have three or four earthquakes most evenings. That is, right along the Caltrain corridor, when the freights go by. It's about 3.0 on the Richter scale.


Posted by Alan
a resident of Charleston Meadows
on Dec 20, 2010 at 10:21 am

According to the USGS web-site that area has had 6 small earthquakes in the past 48 hours. Only the two largest are reported here. Another 2.4 was deeper and an other three 1.x earthquakes happened also.


Posted by Palo Alto native
a resident of Charleston Meadows
on Dec 20, 2010 at 10:40 am

Didn't feel either of those yesterday.


Posted by Dr. W
a resident of Stanford
on Dec 20, 2010 at 11:03 am

My husband felt it! He thought it was the wind blowing the house.


Posted by Berrocal
a resident of Los Altos Hills
on Dec 20, 2010 at 10:03 pm

I live about 100 yards from a mapped fault called the Berrocal fault. On the fault map linked-to in this article, look for Palo Alto Foothills Park. You'll see a black line running through it. That's the Berrocal and a geologist once told me it is capable of a 7.0 quake. He said if that ever happened, my property (south of the fault) would gain about a foot in elevation. Yippee!


Posted by What earthquakes?
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Dec 21, 2010 at 1:35 pm

Earthquakes? Those were tiny and I felt nothing... Of course, I haven't felt too many earthquakes since the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989. Now that was an earthquake.


Posted by yabadoo
a resident of Los Altos
on Dec 21, 2010 at 2:38 pm

Kathy Hobson reportedly claims that her dog "came out and looked at me and said what's going on"? according to this Weekly story. Yikes! Once dogs start talking, I'm preparing for the big one.


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