A moderate earthquake was widely felt as it rattled the central California coast, but authorities said it didn’t cause any damage.
Nearly 6,700 people reported on the US Geological Survey Web site that they felt the magnitude 5.3 quake when it struck late yesterday outside of King City, the federal agency said.
USGS geophysicist Don Blakeman said the temblor struck in a “seismically active area” near the San Andreas Fault, about 145 kilometres southeast of San Jose. It was followed by at least four aftershocks that were greater than magnitude 2.5.
The sheriff departments for Monterey and nearby San Luis Obispo counties said they received calls about the earthquake but didn’t receive any reports of damage.
A magnitude 5.0 quake is capable of causing damage most often knocking things off shelves and making moderate cracks in walls and foundations, the USGS said.
The area, where the quake hit, is a mostly rural area of rolling hills with large farms and ranches.