December 17, 2005
By Joyce Tsai
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
A sharp 3.4 magnitude earthquake rattled East Bay residents Friday morning, leaving many closest to its center wondering whether there had been an explosion.
A 2.2 aftershock followed at 5:44 p.m.
The earthquake centered one mile east of Hercules at 10:21 a.m. and prompted calls from people as far south as Oakland, but no damage or injuries were reported.
The event was called a "reasonably light quake" by U.S. Geological Survey spokesman Bill Lukas. The quake was on the Hayward fault, he said.
About 15 to 20 residents called the Hercules Police Department to ask if there had been a quake or a refinery explosion.
"They were pretty frightened," said Cheryl Rinker, Hercules police department volunteer coordinator. "They wanted reassurance that it wasn't an explosion."
All reported that they felt a strong shaking sensation; some said their homes shook violently, she said.
Residents also reported hearing a loud booming sound in areas closest to the quake.
"It was kind of a booming feeling. It didn't last very long," said Hercules resident Joanne Addy. "I looked around (to check) if I could see things moving . . . Fairly shortly after, things settled down and seemed OK."
One Hercules resident thought a truck had hit his apartment complex.
"It really wasn't terribly dramatic," said Glenn Abraham who was at his home in the east end of the city. "Things of mine that were not bracketed shook. And when everything shook, my cats woke up."
It was a pretty mild quake judging from his cat Frootdat's reaction.
"On the Frootdat scale it didn't register as much as on the Richter scale . . . They just stared and went back to sleep ... No damage here. Nothing came off shelves ... There's no blood here."
The Geological Survey spokesman used the quake to drive home a lesson.
"The best thing is to keep in mind that this is a very small quake," Lukas said, "and it's a good opportunity to prepare for a large quake that will inevitably happen."
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/living/science/13430073.htm