Related Information Earthquake Archives Earthquake FAQ San Ramon Sequence, Part II, Feb. 2 Seismicity in the San Ramon-Danville-Alamo Region 1969-2003

Headlines • Magnitude 7.6 - PAKISTAN, October 8, 2005 • Magnitude 6.1 Near the South Coast of Honshu, Japan, July 23, 2005 • Yet Another, 6.7 Quake Off The Coast Of Northern California, June 16, 2005 • 3rd Quake To Strike California This Week, June 16, 2005 • Tsunami Warning Cancelled After Magnitude 7.2 Off the Coast of Northern California, June 15, 2005 • Magnitude 8.7 - Northern Sumatra, Indonesia, March 28, 2005 • Earthquake Down Under - Magnitude 7.1 rattles Indonesia and Australia, March 2, 2005 • Worlds Strongest Quake in 40 Years Strikes Northern Sumatra: Tsunami Deal Toll Approaching 300,000, December 26, 2004 • Magnitude 7.0 - Hokkaido, Japan Rregion, November 28, 2004 • Magnitude 7.2 - Papua, Indonesia, November 26, 2004 • Magnitude 7.1 - Off West Coast Of The South Island, N.Z., November 22, 2004

November 27, 2002. This is the story we wrote on Monday after the first three quakes. Now we've got 3 more and we can't write fast enough. Below our story is a list of quakes in the San Ramon area over magnitude 3.0 area since Sunday.

November 25, 2002, San Ramon, California just got hit by a triple seismic whammy. Or should we say triple mammy since maybe this just might be Mother Nature's way of saying "Get ready...."

Just about every 12 hours for the last 36 hours this San Francisco Bay Area city 20 miles east of Oakland has been rattled by a minor earthquake. A magnitude 3.9 showed up for breakfast at 6:54 PST Sunday morning, the next, a magnitude 3.8 at 7:58 last night and the third, a 3.5, joined the trio at 10:22 this morning. In between there have been swarms of 2 point something aftershocks but these were too small to be felt by most.

You might think that minor and earthquake are not words to be used in the same sentence but, in fact, a quake is considered to be "minor" up through 3.9, "light" from 4.0 to 4.9, "moderate" from 5.0 to 5.9, "strong" from 6.0 to 6.9, "major" from 7.0 to 7.9, and "great" at 8.0 or more. For more information on earthquake magnitudes click here.

Do these triplets mean that something greater is coming? The USGS declined to comment but a lot of people around here are thinking so. Others, though, are hoping that Mother Nature blew off enough steam with these three to forestall a larger occurrence. But no such luck say the scientists. It would take 810,000 magnitude 3.0 earthquakes to release as much energy as one at magnitude 7.0! The 1989 Loma Prieta quake that took 62 lives, injured 3,757 and caused over $6 billion in damage was a magnitude 7.1

Recent studies show a 70% probability that a quake as large or larger than the Loma Prieta quake will hit the Bay Area between now and 2030. Click here for more information.