Magnitude 4.3 earthquake causes alarm in San Francisco area

A magnitude-4.3 earthquake startled residents of the San Francisco Bay area early today, reported German press agency dpa.

The epicentre of the quake was near the city of Berkeley, east of San Francisco, the USGS earthquake monitoring agency reported.

There were no reports of major damage.

California is highly prone to earthquakes as the San Andreas Fault runs almost 1,300km through the western state.

At this tectonic fault line in the Earth’s crust, the Pacific Plate pushes northwest and grinds against the North American continent, building up enormous tension that can be released in earthquakes.

Near Berkeley, another fault zone, the Hayward Fault, runs through a densely populated area.

- Bernama

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