Quakes Jolt Bay Area

Many Bay Area residents got an early morning wake-up jolt Monday at 5:33 when they were shaken by two, rapid-succession earthquakes with preliminary magnitudes of 3.5 and 4.0 centered in El Cerrito.

The U.S. Geological Survey gave the depth of the 3.5 quake as 5.2 miles and the 4.0 quake as 5.7 miles. Officials in the small East Bay city did not report any damage, according to El Cerrito Patch.

"Boy did we feel that one!" El Cerrito resident Larry Craighill said in a message posted on El Cerrito Patch. "The first bump woke me up, and the second had our hearts racing."

The USGS reported the shaking as two separate quakes just seconds apart, with the first one registering 3.5-magnitude at 5:33 and 12 seconds and the 4.0-magnitude quake striking eight seconds later.

The temblors struck next to the Hayward Fault, considered by many seismologists to be a prime candidate for a major earthquake. The 2010 update of the report, "On Shaky Ground," by the Association of Bay Area Governments, reported that there's an estimated 62 percent probability of a destructive quake of magnitude 6.7 or greater in the Bay Area in the years 2003-2032.

Responses to this morning's quake sent to the USGS "Did you feel it?" Web page came from up and down the coast from San Luis Obispo to Eureka, and as far east as Vacaville.

Did anyone in Elk Grove feel the earthquake? Tell us in the comments.