Watch CBS News

Bay Area Residents Report Feeling Shaking From Sierra Earthquake

PLEASANTON (KPIX) -- People across the Bay Area Thursday afternoon reported feeling the 6.0 magnitude earthquake centered between Lake Tahoe and Mono Lake in the eastern Sierra Nevada.

Everyone described it a little differently. Some called it more of a rumble, others said it felt like waves but everyone who felt it said it was enough to rattle their nerves.

"Big potential for disaster here, right? You see all these bottles. Those bottles are just sitting on the little shelves right there," said Eric Edgar who manages the Wine Steward in downtown Pleasanton. He was working in the shop when the earthquake hit.

"Was a lot of shaking, building up and kept going for some time," he said. Eric's first thought was the wine.

"I've been here 22 years and we've yet to lose a bottle to an earthquake," Edgar said.

READ MORE: Aftershocks Expected for Days After Magnitude 6 Quake Shakes Eastern Sierra

Across the Bay Area, from Concord to Hayward to Daly City, people posted videos of light fixtures swinging and chandeliers swaying.

"I was in my room and all of a sudden everything was shaking and I have these little clouds on my ceiling and they were moving back and forth. My brother and sister came running out of their rooms. They're like, 'did you feel it, did you feel it, did you feel it?'" said Emma Nelson, who lives in Dublin.

"It just felt like my office was shaking quite a bit. It was about the longest earthquake I've felt since living here for 20 years so I thought it was pretty significant," said Pleasanton resident Dave McMorrow.

READ MORE: Magnitude 6 Earthquake Strikes Eastern Sierra Nevada

USGS says people hundreds of miles from the epicenter could feel the shaking, from Redding to Sacramento to Fresno and out to San Jose and San Francisco.

"The earthquake is the result of normal faulting. It's a pretty well understood and expected mechanism for an earthquake at the eastern boundary of the Sierra Nevada mountains," said Austin Elliott with U.S. Geological Survey.

There were dozens of aftershocks Thursday afternoon that continued into the evening. USGS put together an aftershock forecast and said there is a 6 percent chance an aftershock will be larger than the initial quake.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.