A violent earthquake struck the San Francisco Bay Area on Monday at 8:12 a.m., partially collapsing McHenry’s Auto Supply store. The quake has killed at least two people and injuring six others, according to Jennifer Vu, a public information officer from the Hayward Fire Department. At this point, names of the dead are being withheld. The quake measured 6.4 on the Richter scale and was centered on the Hayward Fault under the Hayward Hills, according to Penny Gertz, a scientist from the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park. Three of the six were hurt seriously enough to require hospitalization and were transported to Hayward General Hospital, according to Vu. She claims that no other serious injuries have been reported in Hayward. Mike Beamer, whose apartment is across the street from McHenry’s, said he felt a rolling motion that lasted for about 30 seconds, with a big jolt coming in the middle. “I was eating my breakfast and the room started rolling. I dove under the table just as I heard an explosion outside and a chunk of cement flew through my kitchen window. That’s when the screaming started across the street.” Twenty-one fire personnel, 12 police and five American Red Cross workers responded to the incident, with some arriving at the scene within four minutes of the collapse, Vu said. Hayward firefighters used ropes to stabilize the auto supply shop, conducted a search of the building and capped a gas line after detecting a gas leak at the site. “People as far south as Los Angeles and as far north as Redding were able to feel the quake,” says Gertz.
California Earthquake fault. Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Times