Berkeley in San Francisco rocked by 4.7-magnitude earthquake

A 4.7-magnitude earthquake has shaken the San Francisco Bay Area in the early hours of this morning.

The tremor, recorded at 2.56 am (10.56 am UK time), was centered just a few blocks from the UC Berkeley campus in the Berkeley area.

A tsunami is so far not expected, the US National Tsunami Warning Center confirmed.

The San Francisco fire department said that currently, there are no reports of damage or injuries in the city of almost 900,000 residents.

People took to social media to report the ‘strong jolt’, describing the shake as ‘scary’.

KTVU-TV anchor Dave Clark said in a video from the newsroom: ‘Our calls are coming in from San Francisco and the East Bay and all over.

‘Things were shaking in our newsroom. … It caught everyone off guard.’

The US Geological Survey (USGC) said in a statement that there is a low likelihood of casualties and damage.

San Francisco is highly prone to earthquakes as it sits on the boundary of tectonic plates.

The USGS estimates a high probability of a major earthquake (magnitude 6.7 or greater) in the Bay Area in the coming 30 years.

Almost 36 years have passed since a major earthquake struck the San Francisco Bay Area on October 17, 1989.

As many as 63 people were killed and nearly 3,800 others were injured, and an estimated $6 billion in property damage recorded.

It was the strongest earthquake to hit the area since the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 when more than 3,000 people died and over 80% of the city was destroyed.

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