A 4.3-magnitude earthquake centered near Aromas in Monterey
County rippled gently through Gilroy just before 1pm Monday,
according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
By Chris Bone Special to the Dispatch
Gilroy – A 4.3-magnitude earthquake centered near Aromas in Monterey County rippled gently through Gilroy just before 1pm Monday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
There were no reports of damage, downed power lines or fires from the 12:58 temblor, according to Gilroy Police Sgt. Jim Gillio, who spoke with the city’s emergency dispatcher.
The U.S. Geological Survey had received more than 900 reports from residents by late afternoon Monday, 40 of which came from Gilroy and hundreds more from throughout Santa Clara County.
In the immediate Gilroy area, some people greeted the harmless quake with little more than indifference.
“It was just like a jet passing,” said Kim Gussenhoven, who was home near the Eagle Ridge Golf Club when the tremor occurred. “My wife and little girl got nervous,” he said with a chuckle as his daughter’s cries waned in the background.
At the Washington Mutual Bank on First Street, Senior Teller Karen Trinkaus agreed and said the building trembled a little, but “it was no big deal.”
Despite the close proximity to the epicenter, other responses were largely muted throughout downtown Gilroy.
“There was an earthquake?” asked Andrea Warren, who works a few blocks down at Collective Past Antiques, where everything remained intact. “I didn’t feel anything,” she said with a shrug.
The last five earthquakes to hit the Gilroy area this year have all been minor: two earthquakes registering 3.2 magnitude occurred in January between Gilroy and Hollister; a 3.4 magnitude quake shook the Coyote Lake area in February and similar quake occurred later that month near San Felipe Lake along Highway 152; and the last one measured at 2.9 magnitude in March, again just outside Coyote Lake, according to USGS data.
Steve Walter, a seismologist with the USGS said the earthquake centered along the Loma Prieta section of the San Andreas Fault.
“This is a (section) everyone wishes they had because it produces a lot of small and light earthquakes,” Walter said, but there’s always an exception to the rule, which occurred when the fault ruptured in October 1989, setting off the 7.1 Loma Prieta Earthquake.
Retired USGS geologist and self-professed “earthquake predictor” Jim Berkland had predicted what he called the “World Series Earthquake” of 1989 by using clues like full moons and high tides. The full moon last Sunday, he said, was a harbinger that he had noted, but he admitted that “he didn’t actually predict the one (Monday).”
Prescience aside, the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office received no calls or reports of injuries in the 90 minutes after the earthquake, Lt. Roy Iler said.
“It wasn’t really that bad,” said 17-year-old Hollister resident Eric Macias while entering Nob Hill Foods in Hollister Monday afternoon.
Kelly’s Gift Place on the corner of San Benito and Sixth streets escaped the quake without damage, but the store’s merchandise rattled, said Carla Schultz, a saleswoman.
“All the wine glass were shaking and the Harley-Davidson mugs were flying around on their little things,” Schultz said.
According to Morgan Hill police and fire personnel, no local residents had contacted them inquiring about the earthquake.Â
“I didn’t even know that there was an earthquake today,” said Morgan Hill police dispatcher Toni Maiquez. “Nobody’s called in or said anything all day.”
Morgan Hill residents say they didn’t feel the earthquake that struck about 20 miles southeast of the city.
“I was picking apricots in my backyard around 1pm,” said Dave Ronco of Morgan Hill. “It must have not been that big if I didn’t notice it.”
