Earthquake Advisory Issued For San Francisco Bay Area

October 31, 2007

In response to Tuesday evening’s magnitude-5.6 earthquake near the junction of the Calaveras and Hayward faults, the following statement was issued by the California Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Council, a panel of scientists chaired by the State Geologist that advises the Director of the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (OES) on the scientific validity of earthquake forecasts and seismic activity in areas where damaging earthquakes have occurred in the past.

“A magnitude 5.6 earthquake occurred at 8:05 Tuesday evening (30 October 2007). The earthquake occurred near the junction of the Calaveras and Hayward faults in the southern San Francisco Bay Area. Both of these faults are known active faults capable of producing large, damaging earthquakes.

“CEPEC believes that this evening’s earthquake has significantly increased the probability above the normal level for a damaging earthquake along the Calaveras and/or Hayward faults within the next several days. However, the overall likelihood of such an event is still low. Scientists will be continuing to monitor the situation and advise OES of any changes.

In response to the CEPEC evaluation of this earthquake, OES recommends that residents of the San Francisco Bay region review their family emergency plans, check their emergency supplies, identify the “safe” and “potential danger” spots in each room, remove breakables from locations from which they can fall and cause injury, and stay tuned to the radio or television for further information. OES also recommends that government agencies and businesses review their plans. The “advisory” applies to the following counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano and Sonoma.

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