Inverted Pyramid | San Francisco Bay Area Fictional Earthquake

6.4 Magnitude Earthquake Rocks San Francisco Bay Area

The Marina district in San Francisco following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.
Photo courtesy of: Flickr.

     An earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale, rocked the San Francisco Bay Area on Monday morning at 8:12 a.m. PDT. 

     Jennifer Vu, a public information officer from the Hayward Fire Department, disclosed some information about a damaged building in the city of Hayward. “A building housing McHenry’s Auto Supply at 2342 Plum St. partially collapsed, killing two people and injuring six others,” Vu said. 

     “Names of the dead are being withheld pending successful notification of families,” Vu said. 

     Mike Beamer, a resident of Hayward, whose apartment is across the street from McHenry’s, said he felt a rolling motion that lasted for about 30 seconds, with a big jolt coming in the middle. 

    "I was eating my breakfast and the room started rolling,” Beamer said. “I dove under the table just as I heard an explosion outside and a chuck of cement flew through my kitchen window. That’s when the screaming started across the street.” 

     Officer Vu stated that three of the six people injured were hurt seriously enough to require hospitalization and were transported to Hayward General Hospital. In addition, she also mentioned that no other serious injuries, surprisingly, have been reported in Hayward. 

       Penny Gertz, a scientist from the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, describes how big the earthquake became in terms of magnitude. Gertz said that epicenter of the earthquake, which had a magnitude of 6.4 on the Richter scale, was under the Hayward Hills. 

      Officer Vu said that 21 fire personnel, 12 police and five American Red Cross workers responded to the building collapse, with some arriving within four minutes of the quake. 

     Hayward firefighters conducted a search of the auto supply shop and capped a gas line after detecting a gas leak at the site. Then, they used ropes to stabilize the auto supply shop. 

     Gertz called the quake “a strong one” and said it occurred on the Hayward Fault, which runs under the hills. 

     “People as far south as Los Angeles and as far north as Redding felt the quake,” Gertz said.