6.0 Earthquake just north of San Francisco (August 24, 2014)

Damage in Napa:

Road damage in Napa:

Fire in Napa:

Good job gathering photos of damage Orally. Thanks.


Really glad I'm not in the Bay Area anymore. I am amazed at the very strong bad memories I still have from the '89 quake. In my mind, watching the news this morning, I'm reliving the sensation of motion sickness and can still smell the aromas of fires, burnt tires and crushed concrete.

It is looking like there is not a great deal of damage and not as widespread as the Loma Prieta quake.

Many of the buildings in Napa are of similar age and structure as those in the Santa Cruz area where the bookstore collapsed in '89.

how had the "French Laundry" come through?

Haven't heard any specifics on Yountville. Seems to be the old unreinforced brick buildings with the most damage, and lots of internal damage from contents falling off shelves in homes and businesses.

Am hearing now that many houses have damaged brick chimneys.

Yountville is closer to the epicenter.
That whole NAPA area is underlain by piles of various layers of alluvium which, if they got a big one, would cause buildings to sink like several of those around the docks inSF during Loma Prieta

Woman on TV is saying there is a very strong smell of gas in her neighborhood.

The biggest Bay Area earthquake in a quarter-century rattled the region early Sunday morning, with a 6.0 rattler waking up nervous locals, knocking out power to tens of thousands of buildings and sending items off shelves in homes and stores.

The slow rumble was reported at 3:20 a.m. and was centered close to Buchli Station Road, near American Canyon in Napa County, and was about 6.7 miles deep, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

An estimated 2.3 million people spanning 100 miles from the Santa Cruz area to Wine Country were affected by the quake -- with several thousand people quickly reporting that they had felt the rumble, the USGS reported.

More than 20 aftershocks were reported, topping out at about magnitude 2.5.
The last time an earthquake of this size hit the Bay Area was in 1989, when the infamous Loma Prieta quake at magnitude 6.9 caused severe damage. The largest on record was the historic 7.8 earthquake that hit San Francisco in 1906.

On Sunday, the reports of damage began to pour in. Some street lights in Napa were knocked out, and there were scattered reports of fires, the California Highway Patrol said. People posted pictures on social media of a Walmart and a grocery store with bottles knocked over and shattered. Some residents posted pictures of their kitchens in disarray. One man posted a picture of his chimney knocked over. In Vallejo, the CHP closed some roadways because of damage. There were fears of gas leaks.

PG&E's online outage map showed more than 30,000 customers without power in Napa shortly before 5 a.m. Another 15,000 customers lost service in Sonoma, with more than 10,000 still in the dark in Santa Rosa. Outages of between 1,000 and 5,000 were reported in St. Helena, Vallejo and Pinole.

Seconds after the shaking, which lasted upward of 30 seconds in some parts, social media was flooded with witness accounts of the earthquake, including from law-enforcement and emergency personnel in the area. People reported swaying chandeliers, pictures falling off walls and bottles shattering on the floor.

There were no immediate reports of damage to Bay Area bridges.

According to initial USGS data, it was categorized as "severe" in how the shaking was perceived, though user-reported data deemed it on a lower degree, as "strong." The earthquake was initially reported as having a 6.1 magnitude before being quickly downgraded to 6.0.

An earthquake of Sunday's size, while large, is not uncommon to the area historically, said David Schwartz, an earthquake geologist with the USGS office in Menlo Park. He noted that since 1969, earthquakes in the range of a 6 pop up every few years: a pair of 5.7 and 5.8 in Santa Rosa in 1969, a 5.8 and 5.9 duo in Livermore in 1980, and a 6.2 in Morgan Hill in 1984.

"It's a fairly common-sized earthquake that we've seen historically. There are there sitting in the background," Schwartz said.

It is not, he added, in the range of the next "big one" anticipated by Bay Area residents since Loma Prieta.

"That's not the magnitude we're expecting. We're looking at a 6.7 or larger" for the next major event, Schwartz said.

Whenever an earthquake is rated at 5 or higher, the USGS automatically sends out an alert that there's a 5 to 10 percent chance that an equal quake or larger could occur in the next 72 hours, based on historic activity in California.

"It doesn't mean a large earthquake will occur," Schwartz said. "We don't know if this is a foreshock or a main event followed by aftershocks, which is what seems to be happening here."

If an aftershock occurs, the USGS recommends that people who are indoors stay there, taking shelter under a piece of furniture, in a hallway or against an inside wall, away from windows, fireplaces and heavy objects.

If you are outdoors, get into the open away from buildings, power lines and other things that could fall. If driving, stop carefully and move out of traffic. Avoid bridges, trees and other falling objects. Stay in your car until the shaking stops.

Schwartz said based on the north-northwest trend of aftershocks, Sunday morning's quake was parallel to the West Napa fault, about two miles east, but it's not clear which fault it rumbled out of.

"Nothing shows up on our maps as an active fault," he said. "This will be one of the things we'll be looking into, what the source was."

The USGS "ShakeMap" feature compares and contrasts both agency and user-reported data to rate how strong an earthquake was felt. The USGS system reported it as a "violent" quake with potential for "heavy" damage, while user reports deemed it "very strong" and "moderate" in those respective categories.

Schwartz said that damage cannot be directly predicted by a magnitude rating, noting an array of variables.

"There's a high water table along the Napa River, so you have poor soils. When you have saturated soils, it tends to amplify the shaking," he said. "You put the same earthquake in different locations, with different soils, sediments and rocks, you're going to get different kinds of damage."

The last major earthquake in the Bay Area was the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake -- a magnitude 6.9 quake that struck on Oct. 17, 1989, in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It killed 62 people and caused $6 billion in damages. Before Sunday morning's quake, the largest Bay Area earthquake since Loma Prieta was located near Alum Rock Park in 2007, with a magnitude 5.4 temblor.

California straddles the boundary between two of the Earth's tectonic plates -- as a result, it is broken by numerous earthquake faults. Literally thousands of small earthquakes occur in California each year, providing scientists with clear indications of places where faults cut the Earth's crust.

In 2007, a panel of experts estimated there is a 63 percent chance that in the next 30 years the San Francisco Bay Area will experience a catastrophic earthquake at least as powerful as the magnitude 6.7 Northridge earthquake that rocked Southern California in 1994. There is a far greater chance -- 99 percent -- that an earthquake that size will strike somewhere in the state during that time.

Check back later for updates to this story.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_26396961/6-0-quake-wakes-up-bay-area

Hospitals are starting to report dozens of injuries. Hwy 37 to 29 in Vallejo closed due to damage.

Mobile homes on fire due to burst gas main.

Wineries in area reporting major loss of bottled inventory.

Owner of two grocery stores in Yountville and Napa reporting $60k each in damage caused to inventory. French Laundry is most likely in similar condition.

fire at a Napa mobile home park destroyed four homes as firefighters improvised to put out the blaze, with a water main broken and unavailable.

There was widespread damage in downtown Napa, with bricks, concrete chunks and broken glass littering the street and debris landing on parked cars. The Old County Courthouse was among the buildings that sustained damage. Emergency workers usually stationed there were moved to the sheriff's office.

There was a report of some buckling on an off-ramp from westbound Highway 37 to Highway 29 at Sonoma Boulevard. As a result, Highway 37 between Fairgrounds Drive and Highway 29 was closed as Caltrans crews assessed the damage.

Some buildings in downtown Vallejo also sustained damage.

Some power lines were down in western Contra Costa County, but Bay Area bridges appeared to be fine, according to the California Highway Patrol.

There were widespread reports of power outages, gas leaks and flooding in the North Bay, with at least 15,000 Pacific Gas and Electric Co. customers without power in Vallejo, Napa, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa and Sonoma. Police reminded motorists to stop at darkened intersections.

...
e of the worst scenes of damage Sunday was at the Napa Valley Mobile Home Park at 1040 Orchard Ave. near Mark Way, where a fire possibly fueled by natural gas burned four homes. A broken water main hobbled firefighters' efforts to control the blaze.

Water trucks were brought to the scene, enabling firefighters to control the blaze before 6 a.m. There were no injuries.

Ray Kauffman, 68, said that as soon as he saw the smoke at one of the mobile homes, "I went home to get my crescent wrench but I couldn't get to it."

"The flames were too much when I got there," Kauffman said as he looked at the remains of his neighbor's home.

A woman who asked to be identified as Theresa said she had trouble getting out of her boyfriend's home because it shifted off the foundation.

She went across the street and watched the home burn to the ground.

"It was really scary," she said. "We were really lucky to get out. We lost a kitten, CoCo."

Throughout the Bay Area, many people were jolted awake by the quake.

Erica Gregory, who was brewing coffee while working by herself at the 24-hour Shell gas station on Highway 29 in Vallejo, said items started to fly off the shelves when the quake hit.

"It was nerve-wracking," Gregory said. "You just have to stand there and take it."

In Benicia, several miles from the epicenter, the quake was strong enough to knock pictures off mantles.

Mayor of Yountville reporting that a mutual aid response from surrounding cities has been requested for the damage region.

Reports indicate that Napa's City Hall and other buildings in the downtown area have received significant damage from the quake.

Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa, an outdoor triage area outside the emergency room was set up to handle an anticipated influx. About 70 patients had been treated for earthquake-related injuries as of 6:30 a.m., spokeswoman Vanessa deGier said. Most of those entailed cuts, bumps and bruises, she said, but medical staff were treating one patient who was in critical condition after suffering a heart attack and another who underwent surgery after fracturing a hip.

Reports of damage also began to pour in, with fires destroying four senior mobile homes on Orchard Avenue, as crews had to let it burn out because of a broken water main. Other structures in Napa were starting to crumble, with assorted windows shattering downtown. The Goodman Library, the Alexandria building and the historic county courthouse all were badly damaged, with brick facades crumbling into the street.

In Napa, at least 90 people were injured, three critically, including a young child, according to Queen of the Valley Hospital spokeswoman Vanessa deGier.
One child was hurt when a fireplace collapsed and has been airlifted to UC Davis Medical Center, deGier told CNN.
"The majority of injuries that we are seeing are non-life-threatening, but still serious," she said. "Lots of lacerations and abrasions, obviously from fallen debris."

...

At least 30 water main breaks and leaks were reported, according to Napa public works director Jack Rochelle. "We have our crews out assessing all those locations," he said at a news conference. Water will be shut off to any damaged water main as quickly as possible, and the water that is still flowing is safe to drink, he said.
The earthquake triggered six major fires, including several mobile homes that completely burned down, Callanan said. The city has turned Napa High School into a shelter for those who have lost their homes.
People phoned in more than 100 reports of gas leaks and downed power lines, according Napa city officials.
Some historic buildings in downtown Napa showed extensive damage and at least 15,000 customers in and around Sonoma, Napa, and Santa Rosa lost power, according to Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

...
At Silver Oak Winery, owner David Duncan spent the morning cleaning up hundreds of broken wine bottles that fell off the shelves.
"Those bottles were very unique," he said. They were part of his private collection and worth hundreds of dollars. "It's a tragedy, but it's nothing we can't overcome." Duncan said he plans to open the winery today.

...
Vintners in the Napa Valley have begun to evaluate the damage to their cellars following Sunday's 6.1-magnitude earthquake, which rocked American Canyon and its immediate environs at 3:20 a.m. Damage is being reported across the valley, and many winery tasting rooms will be closed today and possibly tomorrow.

"It was very violent," says Crowe, mother to William, 3, and Bryce, 1. The family lives in an 1898 redwood farmhouse which sustained no structural damage, but they are currently without gas or electricity. "We're making pancakes on the barbecue outside."


While Crowe's home collection -- 100 bottles of the winery's premium pinot noir and chardonnay -- were "undamaged and still resting snug on their sides," initial reports from the winery's American Canyon warehouse indicate that "a lot of bottles" were lost there, says Crowe, who chose not to disclose the name of the warehouse until the owners make an official statement.

The loss was even bigger at Napa's City Winery, a venue for music, winemaking and the culinary arts, which opened this past spring in the historic Napa Valley Opera House. According to owner Michael Dorf, the winery's restaurant has been flooded with inches of water. Liquor and wine bottles tumbled and crashed to the floor and food fell off shelves throughout the kitchen.


"We're making pancakes on the barbecue outside."

"Most likely, all the other restaurants along Main Street suffered similar issues," Dorf said via e-mail.

In total, Dorf estimates the loss of wine at 300 to 400 bottles, including some rare wines purchased at auction, as well as more than 200 pieces of Riedel stemware. At this time, the venue and main structure appear undamaged, he says, but they are canceling tonight's concert of (NVOH and Lucky Penny) and are unclear when they will reopen. Men Without Hats is supposed to perform on Monday.

When Crowe heads to work on Monday, she will double-check the winery's barrels and tanks for damage but is confident that the quake will not interfere with harvest, which is currently in full swing in parts of the valley.

You're welcome. But the thanks should really go to the developers of Twitter, and to Steve Jobs for inventing the smart phone.

Now anyone who is on the scene of something newsworthy can send high quality pictures around the world while CNN is still on their way to cover the story.

Napa parking garage:


Saintsbury Winery:


Napa Barrel Care:

if this kind of stuff is of interest to you, I put an article on my earthquake log thread about the early warning system under development that said the system gave a 10 second warning before the quake hit in Napa.

We're on the brink of some significant advancement in earthquake prediction.

on a quieter , but more puzzling, note, over 500 ethane an methane seeps have been discovered along the continental shelf of the US East Coast and N into Canadia.

Published toady in Nature GeoSciences. The puzzling prt is there seems to be no reql associated structural reason for these aligned seeps. (Unless the unknown variant of the Reelfoot seismic zone continues east.

SOme early hypotheses include the fact that these ethane seeps are covered with Pleistocene and Holocene "flysch sediments" could men that climate changes are responsible for the gas to hit a disequilibrium condition so that existing 'clathrates' (methane and ethane ice deposits" are fizzing up in the rising temps of the continental margins.Looks like Hopkins/u of Delaware/va tech/and Rutgers-Princeton researchers will be busy exploring this for possible gas deposits