san jose earthquake

An earthquake registering 4.3 on the Richter scale rattled the San Jose, Calif., area Monday but no serious damage was reported, officials said.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck at 10:40 a.m. PDT and was centered 16 miles east-southeast of San Jose.

David Piazza of San Jose told the San Jose Mercury News, "I just rolled across my office floor in my chair."

The quake was set off by activity on a fault that had not previously been observed, the newspaper reported. The fault runs parallel to and east of the Calaveras Fault, which is a part of the San Andreas Fault System -- a network of along California's coast.

USGS geophysicist Jack Boatwright told the Mercury News the fault had not been observed before now because it had been dormant.

Here is the USGS data on the San Jose Earthquakes today hitting the Bay Area March 30, 2009. The San Jose Earthquakes have rocked the Salinas Valley and even downtown San Jose.

At 10:40 AM Pacific Daylight Time on March 30, an earthquake with preliminary magnitude 4.5 occurred 45 miles/72 Km northeast of Monterey, California. The magnitude and location are such that a tsunami WILL NOT be generated. This will be the only WCATWC message issued for this event. The location and magnitude are based on preliminary information. Further information will be issued by the United States Geological Survey or the appropriate regional seismic network.

Magnitude: 4.3 - regional moment magnitude (Mw)

Time: Monday, March 30, 2009 at 10:40:29 AM (PDT)
Distance from: Morgan Hill, CA - 18 km (11 miles) N (7 degrees)
Seven Trees, CA - 19 km (12 miles) E (91 degrees)
Alum Rock, CA - 20 km (13 miles) ESE (117 degrees)
San Jose City Hall, CA - 25 km (16 miles) ESE (104 degrees)

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