2000 Yountville earthquake
The 2000 Yountville earthquake occurred with a moment magnitude of 5 on a previously unmapped fault, about 3 miles (4.8 km) south southwest of Yountville, California in the Mayacamas Mountain Range under Mount Veeder and about 9 miles (14 km) south northwest of Napa, California. It occurred at 01:36 PDT (08:36 UTC) on September 3.[2]
  Yountville  | |
| UTC time | 2000-09-03 08:36:30 |
|---|---|
| ISC event | 1739620 |
| USGS-ANSS | ComCat |
| Local date | September 3, 2000 |
| Local time | 01:36 PDT |
| Magnitude | Mw 5.0[1] |
| Depth | 9.4 kilometers (6 mi) |
| Epicenter | 38.38°N 122.41°W [1] |
| Type | Strike-slip |
| Areas affected | North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area) California, United States |
| Total damage | $10–50 million |
| Max. intensity | VII (Very strong) [1] |
| Peak acceleration | .50g |
| Casualties | 41 injured [1] |
Earthquake
The earthquake occurred at a depth of 9.4 km on a northwest-oriented fault and occurred through right-lateral strike-slip motion.[3] The epicenter of the earthquake was near the West Napa Fault, a previously unmarked fault.[4][5]
Damage
Several unreinforced masonry buildings in downtown Napa suffered exterior damage as a result of the earthquake. Sixteen buildings were red tagged following the event and one hundred sixty eight were yellow tagged.[6] Although the magnitude of the primary event was considered only moderate, shaking was intensified in the City of Napa and surrounding area due to the sedimentary soil on the floor of the valley.[7] The earthquake caused an interruption of power to approximately 10,000 Pacific Gas and Electric Company customers. Several hundred houses suffered toppled or cracked chimneys and several instances of broken plumbing due to toppled water heaters were reported. Transportation infrastructure in the affected area did not suffer any significant damage from the earthquake.[8]
See also
References
- USGS (September 4, 2009), PAGER-CAT Earthquake Catalog, Version 2008_06.1, United States Geological Survey
- USGS, M5.0 – Northern California, United States Geological Survey
- Miranda, E.; Aslani, H; Blume, J. A., Brief Report on the September 3, 2000 Yountville/Napa, California Earthquake, Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center, archived from the original on September 3, 2014, retrieved August 28, 2014
- Wesling, John R.; Hanson, Kathryn L. (2008). "Mapping of the West Napa Fault zone for input into the Northern California Quaternary Fault Database" (PDF). USGS. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
- Jensen, Peter (August 31, 2014). "A lesser fault line blamed for Sunday's earthquake". Napa Valley Register. Napa, CA: Lee Enterprises, Inc. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
- Tansey, Bernadette (September 4, 2000). "Dozens Injured In Napa Quake / Many homeless as hundreds of buildings damaged by 5.2 temblor on unknown fault". SF Gate. Napa, CA.
- Courtney, Kevin (September 2, 2001). "Shake up call". Napa Valley Register. Napa, CA: Lee Enterprises, Inc.
- Yanshinsky, Mark (2001), Performance of Transportation Systems During the 9/3/2000 Yountville Earthquake (PDF), California Department of Transportation