<p>Just heard skimpy detail that there was an earthquake (greater than 5.0 but didnt hear the exact number) in Northern CA. Anyone affected by this? Was it minor or is there any damage? Check in please, you NO CAL folks.</p>
<p>in SF, on a hill, on bedrock, definately felt it…not to strong at our location, but yeah, it was interesting</p>
<p>no damage, my D has a friend in San Jose, near the epicenter, is calling</p>
<p>but seems not too much damage, just a blurb on the news</p>
<p>We’ve just experienced a 5.6 earthquake tonight. The USGS reports that the epicenter is near Alum Rock/San Jose. It was a big jolt, but we had no damage to our home in Silicon Valley. Parents with kids at Stanford or Santa Clara may want to check in for reassurance (both ways), but it seems that there is little damage in the region.</p>
<p>I just talked to my son in Berkeley. He felt it but he lives in one of those older houses that shake a lot anyway so he didn’t realize it was an earthquake at first.
I’m in the east bay and was at Target (buying Halloween candy!) and it felt pretty strong. I experienced the one in 89 so they make me nervous!</p>
<p>for us it didn’t feel like a jolt, but shaking for several seconds</p>
<p>I was in alaska for the big one and in SF for the last one</p>
<p>this was nuttin</p>
<p>5.6 according to the USGS. early reports are little or no damage, just a big shake.</p>
<p>I’m near Cupertino at the western edge of San Jose and we were driving home from dinner. We stopped in for gas and the attendant was waving his arms and shouting about “the earthquake”. We hadn’t felt a thing. We got home and found no damage whatsoever.</p>
<p>Out-of-area parents, it seems there may be nothing to worry about.</p>
<p>You’re right…jolt is not the right word. It was more like shaking and noise from the house. (Chandelier swinging wildly). “Jolt” does describe the adrenline as a parent running to gather the kids, though!</p>
<p>I’m near San Jose and we felt nothing. We were driving at the time. No damage at home.</p>
<p>A 5.6 isn’t much on the west coast (although I’d had to see it in the land of brick buildings – like Chicago). Any press reporting that “it’s not the Big One” yet?</p>
<p>still, when it starts, you just cross your fingers…holding your breath…then go phew!!</p>
<p>i remember that last big on- world series time…hmmmmm</p>
<p>True! And then when it finishes, we scramble to call our other California relatives to see if they are OK…then a quick dash to the USGS website!</p>
<p>Just felt some gentle rolling here. Gentle rolling for quite awhile. Not violent enough to make me want to get out of my chair and under a table, though. Glad to hear you’re okay over there Mootmom. One of my daughters is at a maze. Wonder if she felt anything? The nine year old is at play practice.</p>
<p>I would second Mootmom that there’s probably nothing for out-of-area parents to worry about. I remember the first earthquake in grad school–the out-of-staters had no idea what was going on and it was a tiny one. We definitely felt this one in the East Bay.</p>
<p>I felt it here too tonight. cgm - I remember that big one in 1989 too - I was on the Bay Bridge, taking a bus home and didn’t feel the shaking. The bus stopped. I looked up to see a motorcycle driving against traffic. The driver shouted “the bridge is collapsing”. Everyone including me in my high heels, got off that bus and ran for Treasure Island. We were on the SF side of where the bridge broke. I had a baby at home, it was just a couple of weeks before his first birthday. I stood in a long line on Treasure Island waiting to use a pay phone (this was before cell phones were so common). The phones weren’t connecting to anyone. I caught a bus going back into the city, thinking I could sleep in my office as it didn’t look like there was anyway to the east bay. But my office building wouldn’t let anyone in until they could check for structural damage(don’t know what I was thinking - my office was on the 35th floor!). So I walked across the city - from downtown, thru the mission to Bernal Heights to a friend’s house. I met a couple of women walking across the city and we decided to walk together for safety - there were very few lights & lots of broken glass and no public transportations was running. I would have given anything to trade my high heels for flats! Even now I don’t know how far it was but it seemed to take hours. When I got to my friend’s house, the lights were out and no one was home. I sat down on the steps in the dark. The women I was walking with were headed for Daly City. One of them gave me her cigarette lighter so I would have some light. Luckily, I only sat alone for a few moments, when my friend arrived - she’d gone to another friend’s house were they had electricity. She had talked to my son’s other parent and told me my baby was safe. Everyone had thought I might try to find my way to her house. I slept that night on her teenage daughter’s loft bed - in my memory it shook all night with after shocks. In the morning I took a ferry home. A couple of weeks later, for my son’s first birthday, I gave all the adults and older children mini-flashlights as party favors & soon there after I gave up high heels for flats… Tonight here in Oakland, it was a little shake, another reminder to be prepared.</p>
<p>My younger daughter is very excited. A 13 year old native Californian and it was her first earthquake!!! My husband and I grew up in southern California, and seem to remember earthquakes this size 2 or 3 times a year as we were growing up. Wow, it’s been a long time since the last one you could feel.</p>
<p>My girls’ first too (except for the one in 1989 when I was expecting them). They were COMPLETELY unimpressed, as in “Is THAT all there is to it???” I had all 3 kids at home and everyone appropriately went and stood in a doorway–and grinned at each other. Thanks to the earthquake gods for sparing us from a big one.</p>
<p>there are 2 threads going onthis topic- maybe they can be merged?</p>
<p>Glad all is well. There are 2 threads going on this topic-- maybe they can be merged?</p>