Earthquakes San Francisco

Seismologist Peter Ward said that last October's devastating Northern California Loma Prieta earthquake was just a "warning shot" of temblors to come in the next few decades. The U.S. Geological Survey scientist said he has put in between 60 and 100 hours a week for months to prepare for this weekend's release of a 24-page earthquake alert magazine that will be distributed to millions of residents free by 42 regional newspapers.

The U.S. Geological Survey on Thursday sharply increased its estimate of the chance that a major life-threatening earthquake could occur during the next 30 years in the San Francisco Bay Area. In a study spawned by last October's 7.1-magnitude earthquake, the U.S. Geological Survey said there is a 67% probability that a temblor of magnitude 7 or greater will occur in the San Francisco area within the next 30 years.

Since early May, a motley construction crew of Bay Area residents--from plumbers to musicians to computer specialists--has trekked to this farming town south of Santa Cruz to build a $1-million beacon of hope for a community hard-hit by last October's earthquake. Just a couple of blocks from a flattened stretch of the predominantly Latino town's main drag, the San Francisco-area volunteers are helping local residents build a 6,400-square-foot community center.

A moderate earthquake jiggled the San Jose area Saturday and was felt in several locations in the San Francisco Bay Area but no damage or injuries were reported, officials said. The 5:36 p.m. temblor registered 4.0 on the Richter scale and was centered 8 miles northeast of downtown San Jose in the Alum Rock area, the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park reported.

Assembly Republicans, balking at a series of unrelated expenditures, blocked passage Thursday of a bill that state officials say is needed to resume funding medical treatment for the poor and paying refunds to Californians who qualify for the renter's tax credit.

Caltrans would have known that the Nimitz Freeway was likely to collapse in a major earthquake if the department had performed a comprehensive seismic study of the double-decked highway, an independent investigation of the disaster concluded Thursday. But with funds short and priorities placed elsewhere, the state transportation department never ordered such a study, dooming the Nimitz to collapse in the 7.1-magnitude earthquake that shook the San Francisco Bay Area on Oct.

Rep. Leon E. Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) Tuesday criticized the performance of the Federal Emergency Management Agency during the Loma Prieta earthquake last fall, citing excessive bureaucracy that resulted in a "circle of frustration" for victims.

Inspectors found toppled chimneys and minor structural cracks Saturday in an area on the east side of San Francisco Bay rocked by two moderate earthquakes. The jolts, which struck along the southern end of the small Concord fault Friday night, measured 4.6 and 4.3 and were followed by several smaller temblors, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.