A magnitude 4.2 earthquake occurred in Northern California on Wednesday, leading to the activation of a “ShakeAlert” notification system throughout the region. The quake struck near the community of Isleton in Sacramento County around 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, as confirmed by the U.S. Geological Survey. No immediate injuries or damages were reported, according to multiple agencies.
This earthquake coincided with preparations for the annual Great ShakeOut, a global earthquake drill to test emergency response systems. Thousands of MyShake app users will receive a test earthquake alert on Thursday as part of this event.
Furthermore, Wednesday’s earthquake took place one day after the 34th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake, which struck the San Francisco Bay Area in 1989, resulting in 63 fatalities and nearly 3,800 injuries, causing an estimated $10 billion in damage.
Residents in various San Francisco Bay Area suburbs, including Antioch, Concord, Fairfield, Martinez, Orinda, Danville, and Berkeley, where the University of California is located, reported feeling the earthquake. Consequently, a “USGS ShakeAlert” was issued to hundreds of thousands of Northern California residents, spanning from Sacramento in the north to San Jose and Silicon Valley in the south. The alert, triggered by the earthquake exceeding a magnitude of 4.0, instructed recipients to “Drop, Cover, Hold on. Protect Yourself!”
Additionally, the earthquake briefly disrupted the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train service in the affected area.
