A magnitude 6.0 earthquake rocked California’s scenic Napa Valley wine country Sunday, the strongest to hit the region in a quarter of a century, seriously injuring three and jolting thousands from their sleep. No deaths were reported, but authorities said a child was in critical condition after being crushed by a fireplace and that more than 130 people sought minor medical care.
California Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in the wake of the 3:20am quake, which sparked fires, burst water mains, caused gas leaks and even cracked roads. The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the temblor was the most powerful to hit the San Francisco Bay area since the 1989 magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake.
Many residents of Napa and the surrounding area, home to some of California’s most celebrated wineries, were roused from sleep in a state of panic when the ground started shaking.
Photo: AFP
Among them was David Gadlin, manager of Lucero Olive Oil shop in downtown Napa, who raced to the store to find the floor coated with olive oil, vinegar and shattered glass.
“It could have been a lot worse if it happened during the day when customers and workers were inside,” he said. “We will get through this.”
Napa city officials said three people suffered serious injuries, including a child who had to be airlifted to a hospital for neurological care.
Photo: AFP
The Queen of the Valley Medical Center treated 125 patients for minor injuries such as cuts and bruises. Another eight received care at St Helena Hospital, officials said.
Authorities flagged 33 buildings, including a senior center, as too damaged for occupancy, and portions of the city’s downtown were cordoned off with yellow tape.
Fire destroyed four mobile homes and damaged two others at a trailer park in the area, while crews extinguished blazes in two other residential neighborhoods.
As inspectors hustled from building to building to check safety and risk of further collapse, Napa city officials said they had received more than 100 phone calls from people reporting gas leaks.
However, city public works director Jack LaRochelle said “the big thing we’re looking at from a public works and infrastructure standpoint is the water-main system.”
LaRochelle said 60 water-main breaks occurred after the quake, which struck near the city of American Canyon about 64km northeast of San Francisco, USGS said.
He said that 20 of the breaks had been isolated and shut off and that five teams were working in 12-hour shifts to restore water to areas where it did not exist or had minimal pressure.
He added that Napa’s roads were in good shape with only a handful of “buckling streets, but nothing that’s really serious enough to cause us to close a road. Our bridges are in pretty good shape.”
Napa city clerk Dorothy Roberts said that multiple reports of structural damage had come in and that brick buildings in particular had been hard-hit.
Power remained knocked out to fewer than 10,000 customers in the area, said the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, adding that it would be restored by yesterday afternoon at the latest.
Some households were also experiencing water problems.
The city of Napa advised bottled or boiled water for drinking in houses where the water had been cut off during the day, and also set up water stations to distribute clean water.
The earthquake was felt as far away as San Francisco, as far east as Sacramento and as far south as Santa Cruz.
USGS expert Jessica Turner told KCBS radio that aftershocks of up to 5.0 are likely in the next week.
A handful of small aftershocks had already been recorded by USGS.
“Any time we have an earthquake, whether it’s magnitude 6.0 or smaller, they serve as a good reminder that we do live in earthquake country and need to be prepared,” USGS spokeswoman Susan Garcia said.
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