Magnitude 3.5 Earthquake Strikes Off the Coast South of San Francisco

Magnitude 3.5 Earthquake Strikes Off the Coast South of San Francisco
A quake with a preliminary magnitude of 3.5 struck just south of San Francisco on Saturday, Oct. 5 morning. (United States Geological Survey)
Janita Kan
10/5/2019
Updated:
10/5/2019

Bay Area residents felt a jolt on Saturday morning after a magnitude 3.5 earthquake struck off the coast about 10 miles south of San Francisco.

The quake, which was centered near Colma and about 4.7 miles deep, hit at 8:41 a.m. on Oct. 5 and was followed by three microquakes—two within the first ten minutes after the first quake and one at 9:57 a.m., according to the United States Geological Survey.
According to the agency’s “Did you feel it“ map, the intensity of the shaking was generally weak and no damage. Some residents took to social media to report their experiences during the incident.
IT WAS LIKE A QUICK JOLT BUT SUPER STRONG,” one user wrote.

“That was a quick whopper - a mega jolt but over in 4 seconds. Our entire apartment shook in Noe Valley. We got our jolt - no coffee needed,” another wrote.

“My kid just said “it’s so bumpy” then we carried on making coffee and listening to Hamilton,” another wrote.

Similarly, residents who gave their account of the quake on the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center website reported similar experiences.
Back in July, a quake with a magnitude of over 7 jolted much of California, which was centered 11 miles from Ridgecrest, caused significant damage to buildings and roads. This quake was preceded by a 6.4 magnitude quake in the Mojave Desert—which was the largest Southern California temblor in at least 20 years. This quake was followed by a series of aftershocks of varying magnitudes.
Dr. Lucy Jones, a seismologist at Caltech, wrote on Twitter a day after the second quake that there was “about a 1 in 10 chance that Searles Valley will see another” magnitude 7 quake.

“That is a 9 in 10 chance that tonight’s M7.1 was the largest,” she wrote on July 6.