California

3.5-magnitude quake rattles Hollister area in California, seismologists say

A 3.5-magnitude earthquake struck near Hollister in central California.
A 3.5-magnitude earthquake struck near Hollister in central California. Getty Images/iStockphoto

A 3.5-magnitude earthquake shook the Hollister area in California, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The 2.3-mile deep quake hit 2 miles from San Juan Bautista at 9:15 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 19, according to the USGS.

Scores of people from as far away as Antioch and San Bruno reported feeling the tremor to the agency.

Hollister is a city of 42,000 people about 45 miles southeast of San Jose and east of Monterey Bay.

Magnitude measures the energy released at the source of the earthquake, the U.S. Geological Survey says. It replaces the old Richter scale.

Quakes between 2.5 and 5.4 magnitude are often felt but rarely cause much damage, according to Michigan Tech. Quakes below 2.5 magnitude are seldom felt by most people.

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Don Sweeney
The Sacramento Bee
Don Sweeney has been a newspaper reporter and editor in California for more than 35 years. He is a service reporter based at The Sacramento Bee.
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