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Residents in parts of the Tri-Valley felt the jolt of an earthquake that struck with an epicenter in the South Bay late Tuesday morning.
The temblor happened at 11:42 a.m. and had a preliminary magnitude of 5.1, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was centered about 12 miles east of San Jose, just south of Mount Hamilton.
Three smaller quakes followed in the same vicinity within a radius of about one mile and included a 2.9 magnitude quake at 11:47 a.m., one at 3.5 magnitude at 3:08 p.m. and another at 2.7 magnitude at 5:20 p.m., according to the USGS.
No significant damages were reported from any of the temblors.
Peninsula residents and workers quickly took to Twitter as soon as they felt the larger quake on Tuesday morning. It was the largest quake on the northern end of the central segment of the Calaveras Fault since a 5.4-magnitude quake in 2007.
“I live on the 6th floor in downtown palo alto and the building just shook like crazy!” Robin Farmanfarmaian said.
It was Arturo Garrdio’s first earthquake while in Palo Alto.
“Earthquake! First time I feel one in Palo Alto!” he tweeted.
Some questioned whether it was a quake in the first place, including Julie Lythcott-Haims, a candidate for Palo Alto City Council.
“I think I just felt an earthquake in Palo Alto. Or am I just losing my grip on reality,” she said.
Many people also received advanced notification seconds before the quake happened via the MyShake smartphone app developed at University of California at Berkeley, according to the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.
BART officials held trains so crews could inspect trackways for possible damage, but cleared all service for normal operations by about 12:20 p.m. Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority light-rail service was also delayed for inspections following the quake but is back on schedule.
