The San Andreas Fault is restless.
Starting with Tuesday’s 10:15 a.m. 6.0 earthquake, the fault has provided Central California with a number of jolts and “Did you feel that?� moments.
Tuesday’s shaker was followed a few minutes later by a 5.0 and then a number of smaller quakes. Almost exactly 24 hours later, a 5.0 and a 4.5 rumbled through the area.
All the quakes were centered a few miles away from Monterey County’s Parkfield — which describes itself as the “Earthquake Capital of the World� — and about 20 miles north of Paso Robles.
No injuries and light damage to some buildings has been reported. Officials at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant and Morro Bay’s Duke energy plant say their facilities were undamaged.
As is to be expected, the quakes have rattled a region that is in some ways still reeling from last December’s deadly 6.5 quake. After this week’s temblors, callers flooded local media outlets with reports and comparisons.
This article appears in Sep 30 – Oct 7, 2004.
