5.1 Quake Hits San Francisco Bay Area

Magnitude 5.1 earthquake rattles San Francisco Bay Area, the largest to strike the region in years

Celina Tebor

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake rattled the San Francisco Bay Area on Tuesday. There were no immediate reports of damage.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the 11:42 a.m. quake struck 12 miles east of San Jose, near the Calaveras Fault, at a depth of about 4 miles. The area is about 40 miles southeast of downtown San Francisco.

Tuesday's earthquake was the largest the Bay Area had experienced in years, according to USGS data and seismologist Lucy Jones. The last notable quake was a 6.0 magnitude earthquake that struck near Napa in 2014.

The Bay Area National Weather Service office said shaking could be felt at its Monterey office. Trains for BART and Caltrain briefly paused operation before resuming at reduced speeds, the agencies tweeted.

Santa Cruz County said on Twitter that there were no significant reports of damage following the quake. There was no damage to schools and classes safely resumed, according to the county.

A 3.1 aftershock followed about 5 minutes after the earthquake struck, USGS said.

Tuesday's earthquake came just a week after the 33rd anniversary of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake — a magnitude 6.9 quake that struck in the Santa Cruz Mountains on Oct. 17, 1989, just as the World Series was about to begin in San Francisco. The quake resulted in 62 deaths and caused billions of dollars in damages.

In California, 5.1 magnitude earthquake rattles San Francisco Bay Area

Associated Press

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 rattled the San Francisco Bay Area Tuesday. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the 11:42 a.m. quake struck 12 miles east of San Jose at a depth of about 4 miles. The area is about 40 miles southeast of downtown San Francisco.

People reported feeling the quake as far south as Santa Cruz.

A 3.1 aftershock followed about 5 minutes later, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.