San Francisco Area Earthquakes Occur 8 Seconds Apart
Two earthquakes reportedly struck the San Francisco Bay Area within eight seconds of each other on Monday morning.
Scientists measured the magnitude of both quakes and stated the first was at 3.5 with the second being stronger at 4.0.
The stronger quake occurred just one mile north of the city of El Cerrito in the East Bay and 10 miles north-northwest of Oakland. The first quake was labeled a foreshock and hit in almost the same location eight seconds earlier.
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"There were two earthquakes … and since then there have been a lot of aftershocks, which is totally to be expected, down in the magnitude 2.0 range," Don Blakeman, a geophysicist at the USGS' National Earthquake Information Center in Colorado, told MSNBC.com.
Residents in the nearby area immediately took to their Twitter accounts to report the two simultaneous earthquakes.
"Here in Mill Valley, heard rumble of quake 1, then a second later, the hard hit of quake 2. Both were sharp pops with a little after roll," tweeted Stephen Bove.
"It's always difficult to split quakes this close together," said Blakeman. "I think part of the interest today is the fact that it's been a little while since we had even a 4.0 in the Bay Area. I think it kind of reminded everybody that California still has earthquakes."
Despite suffering a one-two punch with the quakes, authorities in the area have not reported any serious damage.
Superintendent Tim Youngberg was meeting with the greens staff at El Cerrito's Mira Vista & Golf Country Club when the quake hit.
"First it was a little shake, a pause, then a big one after that. A pretty good jolt," said Youngberg to the Boston Herald. When he realized there was no damage, he said "everything's good now. We had a good laugh about it."
Geologists believe that the El Cerrito area is a place where different types of rocks get stuck and then release causing quakes.
