'Walls made a cracking sound'; Earthquake swarm jolts Pacifica residents awake
PACIFICA -- An earthquake swarm rattled under Pacifica early Tuesday with a 3.5 temblor followed in rapid fire manner by aftershocks.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the initial jolt of 3.5 struck at 6:01 a.m. near Pacifica's Sharp Park neighborhood. It was followed minutes later by a pair of 2.6 temblors.
Other than shaken nerves, there were no immediate word of damage or injuries. The quakes struck as a storm front, packing strong winds and intense showers bore down on the Bay Area.
Truly a 1-2 punch from Mother Nature.
USGS researcher Keith Knudsen told KPIX the quake had some unique characteristics.
"It was very close to the San Andreas Fault, but it probably didn't occur right on it," he said. "It (the epicenter) was a few kilometers from it. It also didn't have the typical type of motion where the two sides slide past each other. So we are going to be investigating."
Social media was quickly abuzz with local residents who were shaken by the temblor. The quake was felt strongly in San Francisco and on the Peninsula all the way to Santa Cruz.
"Yep, I felt it," posted Cathy. "Earthquake in Pacifica (about 15 miles away) woke me up at 6am. Between that and the wind, it's crazy out there!"
"Shook us pretty good here in Pacifica!," Krista B posted on Twitter. "Walls made a cracking sound right before the strong shakes back and forth. Aftershocks made the windows rattle slightly."
"3 in a row. Fun way to wake up," da posted.
"Whoa 3.5 earthquake shook me out of bed at 6 AM," Jim Steele added in a tweet. "Epicenter a mile from my house around Valemar area Pacifica California."
"Felt the earthquake at 6am today. Very mild shaking for a few seconds," Lloyd Swanson said in an email to KPIX. "I am highly sensitive to earthquakes as I lived in Anchorage in 1964 and experienced the 9.2 quake which coincidentally occurred on this date, March 28."
"My dog & I felt the earthquake in San Francisco," Clint Cardoza posted. "Very scary!"