US: 5.1 magnitude earthquake strikes San Francisco Bay Area, more tremors expected

A 5.1 magnitude earthquake struck San Francisco Bay Area, making it the strongest quake the region has witnessed in eight years.

The tremor was so strong that it rattled people as buildings began shaking. However, there were no reports of damage or injuries.

According to US Geological Survey, the tremors were recorded at 11.42 am (local time) on Tuesday about 12 miles (19 kilometres) east of San Jose, which is about 40 miles (64 kilometres) southeast of downtown San Francisco.

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A 3.1 aftershock followed about five minutes after the initial earthquake, USGS said.

It is being reported that the quake occurred within the Calaveras Fault zone, one of eight major faults in the Bay Area and a branch of the San Andreas fault line.

Speaking to ABC news, Dr Lucy Jones, a seismologist at Center for Science and Society and research associate at Seismological Laboratory at Caltech, has warned that aftershocks as strong as 4.0 earthquake are possible on the Calaveras Fault in the next 24 hours.

"The Calaveras moves more slowly, it has less of the total motion going on there than on the San Andreas, so it moves less often or releases less energy," she was quoted as saying.

"But it seems to have the smaller earthquakes a lot more often. It's considered capable of a six and a half or so. But unlike the San Andreas, it's not going to have, you know, a magnitude eight," she added.

The 5.1 magnitude quake marked the largest earthquake in the Bay Area since the 2014 Napa quake, where 6.0. magnitude was recorded, Jones said.

(With inputs from agencies)

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