A 3.0 magnitude earthquake was felt by many in Berkeley at 9:26 p.m. tonight, Sunday Oct. 6. The quake was 7.4 kilometers deep and USGS put it 4 kilometers ENE of Berkeley.
The epicenter was in Tilden Park, east of South Park Drive, according to the map coordinates: 37.889°N 122.225°, which makes it 4 kilometers WNW of Orinda.
As soon as the sharp shudder was felt, people began sharing their experience of the quake on Twitter. There were reports coming in from downtown Berkeley, Albany, Orinda and many other spots in the surrounding area.
Immediately after the quake, there appeared to be a delay in accessing information on the USGS website, and tweeters speculated that the government shutdown was causing a reduced service. A statement on the USGS site states that due to a lapse in Federal funding, the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program has suspended most of its operations. It reads: “While the USGS will continue to monitor and report on earthquake activity, the accuracy or timeliness of some earthquake information products, as well as the availability or functionality of some web pages, could be affected by our reduced level of operation.”
The earthquake was downgraded to a 3.0 from a 3.1 at by USGS at around 10 p.m. A second, 1.8 magnitude quake occurred at 9:29 p.m., three minutes after the 3.0 one.
This story was updated in line with emerging information.
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