San Jose earthquake impacts on the Central Coast

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV)- It’s been over 24 hours since that 5.1 magnitude earthquake shook Santa Cruz County.

This is the biggest earthquake in eight years in the Bay Area. Depending on where you were, you might not have felt it as much as someone else.

United States Geological Survey Research Physicist Sarah Minson says several factors cause the shaking.

“Depending on the hills and the valleys, the different materials it’s traveling through, the waves may get focused towards you or defocused away from you,” Minson said. “There’s the actual material that you’re on. If you’re standing on soft bane mud or hard rock. That could have a different response to the shaking. Finally, where’s your physical environment on top of the ground?”

Avalon Visions, a store in Soquel, definitely felt the quake. Security footage shows the shop shaking. Fortunately, no items fell from the shelves or ceiling.

Owner Gwen Thomas wishes she knew that driving to her business.

“I had definitely wondered if we had lost merchandise which is in a store this size would be quite costly,” Thomas said. “We don’t do marvelously well. It’s not like we’re a big retail store or something. So I was very concerned about that.”

Although no significant damage was done, is there a possibility of any other quakes soon? The USGS doesn’t think so.

“So right when the earthquake happened, there was probably about a 2% chance of a bigger earthquake happening next week,” Minson said. “But given how quiet it’s been, that probability is already down to about 1 in 300.”

Minson also says that when it comes to tsunamis, the local community doesn’t need to worry about these quakes triggering them.