North Bay residents got a literal shake-up Tuesday evening when a preliminary magnitude 4.3 earthquake rolled through near Cloverdale, rattling parts of Sonoma County but stopping short of a major emergency.
The earthquake struck at about 7:40 PM yesterday near Cloverdale, according to the USGS. ABC7 News Bay Area reported initial accounts of no injuries or major damage.
The current USGS listing places the epicenter roughly 8 kilometers east-southeast of Cloverdale, at a shallow depth of about 5.5 kilometers, or 3.4 miles. The agency also logged a preliminary magnitude 2.5 aftershock in the same area shortly afterward.
Residents in Cloverdale, Santa Rosa, Healdsburg and nearby communities described a brief but noticeable rumble in a local Reddit thread, with some noting they received a ShakeAlert before feeling the motion.
No Major Damage Reported After North Bay Jolt
As of the initial reports, there was no indication of widespread structural damage or serious injuries, ABC7 News Bay Area reported. Small earthquakes are common around the Geysers and surrounding North Bay fault systems, where residents can feel even relatively modest quakes because of their shallow depth.
California's earthquake warning system can sometimes deliver a few seconds of notice before stronger shaking arrives. The California Governor's Office of Emergency Services advises residents who feel shaking or receive an alert to drop, cover and hold on.
