Magnitude 5.1 earthquake felt in Bay Area

Thomas Leffler
·2 min read
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Residents of California's Bay Area were given quite the shock Tuesday, as a magnitude 5.1 earthquake was confirmed 12 miles east of San Jose at 11:42 a.m. PDT.

Shaking from the earthquake was felt over a 60-mile radius throughout the area that contains the cities of San Jose, Santa Clara and parts of Oakland, reaching approximately 4 million people. No damages have been reported from the incident as of Tuesday afternoon, including no significant impact to nearby San Francisco or Santa Cruz County, according to local officials.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the risk of a tsunami as a result of the earthquake was ruled out. The U.S. Geological Survey stated that the quake was 4.2 miles (6.9 kilometers) deep. According to a seismologist in the area, the quake was the largest in the Bay Area since a 2014 earthquake which had a magnitude of 6.0.

A video camera in one San Jose backyard caught the moment the earthquake hit, showing one man running inside to get away from the vigorous shaking:

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A San Francisco resident used a household instrument in order to gauge the earthquake's severity:

Despite no reports of significant impact, a local resident noted that the earthquake shook homes and rattled windows in Los Gatos.

At approximately 3:08 p.m. PDT, a second earthquake was detected in the same area, about 12 miles east of San Jose, with a reported magnitude of 3.6.

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