Strong Earthquake Rocks San Francisco Bay Area; At Least 170 Injured

August 24,2014 


 
A preliminary 6.0-magnitude earthquake rocked the San Francisco Bay area early Sunday, damaging historic buildings and portions of major highways, rupturing gas lines and water mains, igniting fires, and knocking out power to thousands of residents in the region. At least 170 people were injured in the quake, at least six critically, according to officials at Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa.
The earthquake struck 4 miles northwest of American Canyon, California in Napa County at around 3:20 a.m. local time, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The quake was felt over a large portion of northern California, including San Francisco, with the strongest shaking experienced in Napa, Solano and Sonoma Counties. More than 100 aftershocks were reported after the earthquake, the largest to hit the Napa Valley area since the Loma Prieta earthquake almost 25 years ago, the USGS said.
The Napa County region reported the worst damage. Historic buildings in downtown Napa were reported to have sustained damage, according to CBS San Francisco. Napa City Council member Peter Mott reports the library and the historic Chinese laundry building suffered significant damage, and bricks and glass are scattered across downtown sidewalks on Second and Third Streets. At least 15 buildings have been declared uninhabitable as well as about 90 to 100 homes.
Four homes were destroyed by a fire at a mobile home park, Napa officials said, while six to eight others received minor to moderate damage, the San Jose Mercury news reported.
At least 172 patients were treated for earthquake-related injuries at Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa. Thirteen patients were admitted broken bones and respiratory or cardiac issues, but the the rest were treated and released with minor injuries, according to NBC Bay Area. One patient remained in critical care at the Medical Center while a 13-year-old boy was airlifted to another hospital in critical condition after being severely injured when a fireplace collapsed, CBS San Francisco reported.
Mark Ghilarducci, director of the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, said at a news conference late Sunday afternoon that the situation had stabilized.
By midday, officials had a good sense that the fires were out and power was starting to be restored. "While it was bad, it wasn't as bad as it could be and it was very manageable from a regional perspective," he said.
California Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for southern Napa on Sunday morning due to the damage resulting from the earthquake. The declaration allows all available state resources to be directed toward earthquake response efforts.
In a statement, Gov. Brown said the Office of Emergency Services has been on full activation since early Sunday morning and is "working closely with state and local emergency managers, first responders and transportation officials to respond to impacts to residents and critical infrastructure."
Napa City Manager Mike Parness says it is too early to estimate damages. He said: "Right now we're still in initial response mode where we're trying to find out what the conditions are. Once we have that identified then we will start putting numbers to it and try to get a better handle on it. We really can't do that right now. It's only been a few hours."
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. is working to restore power to 30,000 customers after the earthquake, spokesman Jeff Smith said.
Napa Public Works Director Jack LaRochelle says it could take as long as a week to repair 60 water mains that broke or sprung leaks. He says residents serviced by mains that had to be shut down for repairs could be without water in their homes for that long.
LaRochelle stressed that it was still safe to drink from municipal taps, and the water plants for the city were not damaged.
The California Department of Transportation has inspected San Francisco Bay Area state highways and structures and says all damage appears to be minor.
The agency says bridges and roadways are open and safe for travel.
All Napa Valley Unified School District schools will be closed on Monday, according to NBC Bay Area. Justin Siena High School will also be closed.
The earthquake couldn't have come at a worse time for winemakers in the storied Napa Valley, which has just started harvesting the 2014 crop. Thousands of bottles and barrels broke.
Tom Montgomery, a winemaker for B.R. Cohn Winery in Glen Ellen, California, said: "It's devastating. I've never seen anything like this."
Though the damage appeared to be most significant in Napa, other cities nearby were also affected. About 15 miles south in Vallejo, city officials said 41 buildings were damaged, primarily in the downtown area and on Mare Island, and there were 16 water main breaks.
Congressman Mike Thompson, who represents Napa, says a museum and homes that belonged to officers when Mare Island served as a naval shipyard were declared uninhabitable.
Pictures across social media showed dishes thrown out of cabinets and wine knocked off the shelves of convenience stores.
People up playing poker at a 24-hour casino in American Canyon experienced a sudden jolt when the earthquake first hit.
"I didn't know what to do," Sunshine Hamilton, told the San Francisco Chronicle. "Everybody ran outside, so I ran outside too."
But Skip Hutchins, a cashier at the casino, said the strong quake was nothing like the devastating 6.9-magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake, which killed 63 people, injured thousands and inflicted billions of dollars in damage.
"It wasn't like the shaking I felt in '89," Hutchins told the San Francisco Chronicle. "It felt like more of a rolling."
The Northern California Earthquake Data Center said that there was a 54 percent chance for a "strong and possibly damaging aftershock" in the next seven days and that there could be up to 70 small aftershocks during the same time period.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.