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Series of Small Quakes Rattles Bay Area and Central Coast, Latest a M3.4 Near San Juan Bautista

USGS links the shaking to the Calaveras Fault with low short-term odds of a much larger event.

Overview

  • A magnitude 3.4 struck near San Juan Bautista at 7:40 a.m. Friday, followed by M2.5 and M2.6 tremors minutes later, with no reports of damage or injuries.
  • On Thanksgiving, a M3.9 hit south of San Juan Bautista at 12:48 p.m. and a M4.0 followed about nine minutes later, generating felt reports from the Central Coast into the Bay Area.
  • Wednesday’s cluster near Gilroy began with a M4.0 at 6:16 a.m. about five miles east of the city at a depth of roughly 1.7 miles, followed by M2.7 and M3.6 quakes within minutes.
  • USGS initially listed Wednesday’s mainshock at M4.3 before revising it to M4.0, reflecting standard post-event updates as more data were analyzed.
  • Short-term USGS guidance for the Gilroy sequence estimated about a 14% chance of another M3+ and around 2% for M4+, with officials reporting no tsunami threat or travel disruptions.