EFE- A magnitude 6 earthquake rocked northernCalifornia (USA) this Sunday morning, causing injuries and power outages, This was the strongest quake recorded in the area since the 7.0-magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
The quake occurred at about 03.20 am (10.20 GMT) and the epicenter was six miles deep, about six miles southwest of the city of Napa and just over 50 southwest of Sacramento. "The earthquake of 6 degrees near the Bay aArea (San Francisco) felt this morning was the largest earthquake to hit the area since the earthquake in Loma Prieta almost 25 years ago, "said USGS on its official Twitter account .
The captain of the Napa Fire Department , Steve Becker , said that reports of "numerous" injuries at that location had been received, but did not provide further details, according to the newspaper San Francisco Chronicle.
A fire in a mobile home park destroyed at least three homes in Napa, where the earthquake filled the streets of bricks, broken glass and other debris, said Becker.
The newspaper cited, also informed that there were multiple reports of power outages, gas leaks and floods in the area of San Francisco Bay and at least 15,000 customers of Pacific Gas and Electric Co.are without power in the towns of Vallejo, Napa, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa and Sonoma .
Local authorities are inspecting damage to infrastructure and have closed two highways to assess their condition, while the bridges of the Bay Area, home to San Francisco , do not appear to have reported damage, according to the California Highway Patrol .
The quake occurred as many of the residents were sleeping, but Erica Gregory, who was working on the night shift at a gas station near the town of Vallejo , said the store items began to fall. "It was a desperate situation but I had no other solution but to stay there and wait, " Gregory told the San Francisco Chronicle.
So far the cause of the quake has not been determined, but the USGS said on its Twitter account that the section of Browns Valley of the West Napa fault could be it.
The earthquake today was followed half an hour later by half a dozen quakes of lesser magnitude, the largest of which reached 4 degrees, according to the Geological Survey, which warned that there is a 54% chance that a strong aftershock could register within the next 7 days.
In the earthquake of Loma Prieta , in October 1989, 63 people died, 16,000 houses were destroyed and part of the Bay Bridge, the longest bridge that connects San Francisco with the East Bay was damaged, which has since then, been renovated to resist a new earthquake.
Our Thanks to ElComercio.com, San Francisco Chronicle, EFE and ABC in publishing this note.
Previous Photos: Twitter / @ MikeNiccoABC7 / @ KenWayne / Playback USGS.
