Two earthquakes within seconds ‘violently’ rattle California’s Wine Country

Two 4.0-magnitude-plus earthquakes struck California’s Wine Country north of Santa Rosa, the U.S. Geological Survey reported..

The first 4.4 magnitude quake hit 3.4 miles deep about 2 miles north of Santa Rosa at 6:39 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13, according to the USGS.

The second 4.3-magnitude quake struck at the same depth at 6:40 p.m. about 2.5 miles north of Santa Rosa, according to the USGS.

More than 6,400 people from as far away as Fresno and Simi Valley reported feeling the 4.4-magnitude tremor, the agency reported. About 175 people reported the second quake.

The quakes cracked storefront windows, knocked items off shelves, and damaged water and gas lines in Santa Rosa, The San Francisco Chronicle reported.

“I turned off the stove and said, ‘Guess I’m going to work,’” Santa Rosa Fire Marshal Paul Lowenthal told the publication.

“Rocked and rolled WAY longer than I care for. Hope everyone’s okay,” read one Twitter post.

“Growing up in the Bay Area, I’ve experienced my share of earthquakes. Including 1989. But I have never been scared until today,” read another Twitter post. “We felt this 4.4 #earthquake, centered 4 miles away, so violently and so loudly that we felt sure something major had happened. My legs shook for 10m.”

Magnitude measures the energy released at the source of the earthquake, the U.S. Geological Survey says. It replaces the old Richter scale.

Quakes between 2.5 and 5.4 magnitude are often felt but rarely cause much damage, according to Michigan Tech. Quakes below 2.5 magnitude are seldom felt by most people.

This story was originally published September 14, 2022 at 9:32 AM with the headline "Two earthquakes within seconds ‘violently’ rattle California’s Wine Country."