Alum Rock: A Frightening First Earthquake

 On October 30th, 2007, a 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck Alum Rock Park in San Jose, California, and was felt throughout the Bay Area. I had just turned 3 years old, and this was my first earthquake, at least the first that I can remember. When the shaking started, I understandably immediately started crying and looking for my dad. But I couldn't find him! I felt so alone for about three seconds before he picked me up and calmed me down. The rest of my family, however, did not have as relaxing of an experience. 

I am the youngest of three, and my sister was 16 at the time. The earthquake struck at night, and she was part of the crew for her high school play. She was controlling a spotlight on one of those raised platforms on each side of a theatre when the shaking started. Being on a platform without guardrails on all sides and lots of loose equipment at her feet made her earthquake experience much scarier than mine. I also think she is afraid of heights which couldn't have helped. My mom was driving my brother at the time, and my mom is an anxious driver under normal conditions, so although nothing bad happened, the earthquake must have terrified her. 

                  Image: Products that fell off shelves                              Image: Epicenter in Alum Rock Park

Although my sister and I were terrified by the earthquake, it was very uneventful as far as earthquakes go. Very little infrastructure was affected, as all of the buildings in the Bay Area were built to survive much worse than this. No one was injured or killed, all that really happened was that some stuff fell off shelves. It was the strongest earthquake to hit the Bay Area since the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, which caused $6 billion in damages and killed 63 people. 

Gonzales, Sandra, et al. “Update: 5.6 Quake Hits near Alum Rock, Strongest since Loma Prieta.” The Mercury News, The Mercury News, 14 Aug. 2016, www.mercurynews.com/2007/10/30/update-5-6-quake-hits-near-alum-rock-strongest-since-loma-prieta/.

Oppenheimer, David H., et al. “The 2007 5.4 alum rock, California, earthquake: Implications for future earthquakes on the Central and Southern Calaveras Fault.” Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 115, no. B8, 2010, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009jb006683.