A 5.1 earthquake centered just east of San Jose jolted the nation’s 10th largest city at 11:42am today, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
The USGS said the quake was felt as far north as wine country and Sacramento and as far south as Salinas and Big Sur, into the ocean past Santa Cruz and east of Merced and Modesto.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries from the quake, which occurred along the Calaveras Fault in hills about 8 miles east of downtown San Jose at a depth of 6 kilometers.
At least three aftershocks from the quake were felt in the two hours since the first tremor, in the 1.6 to 2.9 magnitude range.
Many residents of Morgan Hill, Gilroy and Hollister confirmed on social media that they felt the 5.1 earthquake late Tuesday morning.
The quake occurred less than eight days after the anniversary of the destructive 1989 quake, centered in the Santa Cruz Mountains southwest of San Jose.
Bay City News reported that the 5.1 quake was the largest in the Bay Area since a 6.0 earthquake in the Napa area. It was the largest quake on the northern end of the central segment of the Calaveras Fault since a 5.4-magnitude quake in 2007.
Many people also received advanced notification seconds before the quake happened via the MyShake smartphone app developed at the University of California at Berkeley, according to the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.
Bay City News also reported that BART officials held trains so crews could inspect trackways for possible damage, but cleared all service for normal operations by about 12:20pm. Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority light-rail service was also delayed for inspections following the quake but was back on schedule by 2:30pm.
