A minor earthquake shook the Hayward fault in the Berkeley hills at 4:05 p.m. today, and although it registered a magnitude of only 3 the temblor was widely felt as a brief heaving event throughout the East Bay and as far west as San Francisco's ocean beachfront.The U.S. Geological Survey placed the quake's depth at a shallow 5 miles and located its epicenter at 2 miles east southeast of Berkeley's City Hall, 3 miles northeast of Emeryville and 11 miles east northeast of San Francisco City Hall. No damage was reported.
Quakes along the Hayward and San Andreas faults often strike at depths of 8 to 10 miles, but small, shallow ones are not uncommon.
The most recent estimates by a statewide team of quake experts say there is a 27 percent probability that a major temblor - with a magnitude of 6.7 - will hit along the Hayward fault within the next 25 years.
Read More
