6.0 Eartquake Hits Napa California

[bravoactual]

A 6.0 Earthquake has hit the town of Napa in Northern California.

The quake hit at 3:20 A.M. PST.

Queen of the Valley Hospital has set up a triage center. Grace Church and Napa High School are now designated at Refugee Centers.

CBS San Francisco

http://abc7news.com/.

Bay Area News Local News Weather Traffic Entertainment Breaking News

Members of this forum with Family/Friends in the area of the Earthquake should know that power is out, as is phone service.

I would encourage members with Family/Friends in the area of the Earthquake to either wait until service is restored or PM me and I will attempt to make phone contact/email contact.

 

[waltky]

Mebbe dat's what caused the Napa Valley quake?...

Western US Drought Causing Earth's Crust to Rise
August 22, 2014: The major drought gripping the western United States is not only drying the landscape, it’s causing the land to rise.

Researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California at San Diego used GPS data to determine the drought has caused the land to rise, on average, 4 millimeters across the western states. The Sierra mountains of California rose over half an inch. Duncan Agnew, a Scripps Oceanography geophysics professor and co-author of the paper said that “in areas of deep soil, the material behaves like a sponge. When the water dries out, it shrinks or goes down.” “If you’re not on deep spoil the effect is that the earth is like a spring,” he said “The water is no longer pressing down on that area so it rises.”

That’s what’s happening in the western U.S., and the findings quantify the staggering water loss wrought by the drought. Based on the findings, Agnew said he and his team believe the water loss due to the drought exceeds 240 trillion liters of water. “It’s like covering the western half of the U.S. with a layer of water 10 centimeters thick,” he said.

A GPS station is seen in the Inyo Mountains of California.

If the drought lifts, expect the land to fall under the weight of the water. In fact, Agnew said, there was a downward shift in 2011, which saw a very wet winter. Agnew said the rise would not effect California’s earthquake prone San Andreas Fault. “It does change the stress on the fault, but by a very small amount,” he said. “It’s the same pressure you’d feel putting your hand in an inch of water.” Last year was the driest on record in California, and this year may be just as dry.

Some reservoirs are empty and the Sierra mountain snowpack, which melts and fills rivers in the springtime, is at dangerously low levels - just one quarter of normal. Farmers warn of another "Dust Bowl" - referring to the drought and dust storms that ravaged American farmlands in the 1930s. The drought is so bad that California Governor Jerry Brown called it “epochal.” Eighty percent of the state is experiencing “extreme” or “exceptional” drought, leading to strict measures restricting the use of water. Agnew’s paper appears in the August 21 online edition of the journal Science.

Western US Drought Causing Earth s Crust to Rise

 

[waltky]

Is the Big One coming?...

Are earthquakes on the rise? Is California's 'Big One' coming?
Tue August 26, 2014 ~ The 6.0-magnitude quake Sunday was not on the San Andreas Fault; Some predict the "Big One" will strike along the fault in the next few decades; USGS: Los Angeles and San Francisco will one day become next-door neighbors

Northern California's biggest earthquake in 25 years has people asking: Is the world seeing more tremors than usual? And is the long-dreaded "Big One" that could devastate California coming soon? Actually, experts say the world might not be seeing more than usual. And as for the Big One, there's no sign that it's imminent. The infamous San Andreas Fault is due for its epic every-150-years rumble. But the quake that struck Sunday, centered about 6 miles southwest of Napa, wasn't on that line. "I don't think we can make any connection on that," CNN meteorologist Chad Myers said. "This is on a different fault -- still part of the same system, still the plates are still shifting from California, the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate."

More quakes in 2014?

Peru, California, Chile and Iceland have all been hit by notable earthquakes in 2014, which has some wondering whether there have been an unusually large amount of strong earthquakes this year. The rate of major earthquakes -- those with a magnitude higher than 7.0 -- more than doubled in the first quarter of 2014 compared with the average since 1979, according to a paper published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters in June by Tom Parsons and Eric L. Geist of the U.S. Geological Survey.

But a time period of fewer than 50 years isn't a large enough sample size to definitively say whether this year has had an abnormal number of quakes. It could be a statistical anomaly, according to CNN meteorologist Sean Morris. "It's such a small sample and short time frame; let's not get alarmed," Myers said. The Geological Survey notes that many earthquakes go undetected "because they hit remote areas or have very small magnitudes."

There has been a greater amount of smaller temblors in the central United States, especially in Oklahoma, which experts say could be a result of fracking in the area. In June, Oklahoma surpassed California in the number of earthquakes this year. "When they first started happening, they were a big deal," said Althea Peterson, a reporter with the Tulsa World. "It's nothing I ever expected in Oklahoma."

When will the 'Big One' strike?

Granny says its a sign o' the end times - Jesus comin' back purt soon.

 

[Stephanie]

I heard the biggest casualty was a bunch of wine bottles.

really this was still fairly small and luckily If I remember right it's fairy sparse in that area

 

[waltky]

Yea...

... most of the fairies...

... live in England...

... or San Francisco

 

[Stephanie]

Yea...

... most of the fairies...

... live in England...

... or San Francisco

lol, ok you got me. pretty good comeback though.lol