Earthquake in Pleasant Hill California

My home was just hit with an Earthquake. The US Geological Service says it was centered one highway stop away from where I live. USGS says it was a 4.5-4.7. However, it was strong enough to shake dishes and knock some hanging objects off of the wall. It was probably the strongest shaking from an Earthquake that I have personally felt in California. Other Earthquakes that I have felt had stronger USGS readings in the 5 range. However, those were centered farther away.

4 thoughts on “Earthquake in Pleasant Hill California”

  1. Earthquakes are not on a liner scale. It is a logarithmic scale 4.7 is very small. Maybe a fruit display could be on the floor. There are roughly 1,000 of these a year https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richter_magnitude_scale
    6.5-6.8 is when things start to get more serious…unless building codes are crap. Then 6.0 If you built your house out of sawdust and yak poop 5.4 maybe.
    Most of the stuff that causes more than 10 deaths is in the 6.8+ level.
    Anything 8.0 or above is just massive. 9.0 is crazy violent. 9.5+ Just about all construction will be totaled anywhere near the epicenter…and if not obliterated, it is unlikely to be level because the ground will likely have shifted if not churned underneath it. Loss of life could be staggering.

  2. Alas… I slept right thru it. Hayward is only 20 miles (32 km) from Pleasant Hill, where the epicenter was located. My “better half”, awake at the time, reported a 2 punch quake, consistent with most larger quakes in California. An initial modest rattling (high frequency, P wave) and then a much more aggressive whole-house-shake-and-roll (S wave). She told me that she could see our peaked A-frame roof ungulate. Cool. Wish I hadn’t slept thru it.

    However, its darn good it was not a 5.5 or 6.5. USGS’s 4.5 rating is just enough to scare the muggles out of the unprepared … which will now spur a couple of weeks worth of emergency rations buying, LED lamp purchases and so on.  

    Just Saying,
    GoatGuy ✓

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