Earthquake Rocks California

(CNN) — A 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck Northern California early Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Eighty-seven patients have been treated or are being treated at Queen of the Valley Hospital following the early morning earthquake, according to the city of Napa. “There are three major injury cases,” the city said on its website.

One “young child,” a girl, is in critical condition, Napa Division Fire Chief John Callanan said at a news conference. She was hurt when a fireplace collapsed.

It was the strongest earthquake to hit the Bay Area since 1989, when a quake struck during the World Series.

Sunday’s earthquake struck 4 miles northwest of American Canyon, 6 miles southwest of Napa, and 9 miles southeast of Sonoma, according to the USGS.

A water main ruptured in downtown Napa and a handful of structural fires broke out, according to the Napa city fire department. Some Napa historic buildings sustained extensive damage and at least 15,000 customers in and around Sonoma, Napa, and Santa Rosa lost power, according to Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

KTVU reported that two evacuation centers have been set up in the Napa Valley

The USGS estimated, based on their locations, that 15,000 people experienced severe shaking, 106,000 people felt very strong shaking, 176,000 felt strong shaking, and 738,000 felt moderate shaking.

Wine country hit

“I’ve got a lot of broken wine, being here in Napa,” said Emily Massimi, who was woken up by the quake. “We tend to collect wine, so I have wine all over my kitchen, and glass, and pictures off the wall and books off of bookshelves,” she told CNN.

At Silver Oak Winery, owner David Silver spent the morning cleaning up hundreds of broken wine bottles that fell off the shelves.

“Those bottles were very unique,” he said. They were part of his private collection and worth hundreds of dollars. “It’s a tragedy, but it’s nothing we can’t overcome.” Silver said he plans to open the winery today.

The quake jolted downtown Napa resident Karen Lynch. “The refrigerator flew open and all the food fell out,” she told CNN.

“It was not like other quakes we have felt,” Lynch said. “This was a violent quake, jolting us to and fro.”

There have been at least five aftershocks so far, according to the USGS, ranging from 2.6 to 3.6 magnitude

CNN’s Rick Martin contributed to this story
Click HERE to discuss this topic in The OT Forum

You must be logged in to post a comment Login