Napa earthquake rocks Saratoga in its sleep

A 6.0-magnitude earthquake rocked the Bay Area at around 3 a.m. on Aug. 24. According to U.S. News, this was the largest quake for Northern Californians in 25 years since the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, severely affecting the wine industry in Napa Valley as well as causing millions of dollars in damage and injuring dozens of people in the city of Vallejo alone. The tremors inflicted casualties such as power outages, fires and broken water mains in other places as well.  

The event may cause worry that the “epic every-150-years rumble” from the San Andreas Fault is due to come soon. However, the recent quake was centered about six miles from Napa Valley, not on the line of the fault. According to CNN News, even though the number of strong earthquakes has been rising in recent years, seismologists say that there is no connection between the one that just passed and the “Big One” they are expecting.

The tremors were lessened by the time they reached Saratoga. In fact, many students did not feel the tremors because they were sleeping.

Sophomore Nathan Ching was one of the few who was awake during the earthquake. While working in his room, his room started shaking in response to the quake.  

“My shelf and books were wobbling, but not to the extent that they were falling off,” Ching said. “[The earthquake] lasted for about a minute, then stopped, leaving me to see my curtains just waving.”

Senior Anna Sabel was awake in between dreams when she felt her room shake.

“[The tremors weren’t] too bad; [it] just felt like a big truck was passing by,” Sabel said. “By the time I registered that [it] was an earthquake, it was [already] over.”