4.1 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Sacramento Area

STOCKTON, CA - SEPTEMBER 28: Water is held back from a lower-elevation farm (R) by a section of Highway 4 that serves as a levee road in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, on September 28, 2005 west of Stockton, California. Officials say that the dikes of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta are in worse shape than those that broke and flooded New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. There is a two-in-three chance that a catastrophic earthquake or storm in the next 50 years will damage the levees enough to cause the kind destruction that engulfed New Orleans, according to experts. Such an event would affect the water supply that serves two-thirds of California and create a nightmare traffic jam on Highway 4, the two-lane road that would be the major evacuation route, if it is not damaged beyond usability. 1,600 miles of levees protect the delta?s islands, which lie well below sea-level, and most were built more than 100 years ago. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images) — (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

OAN’s Elizabeth Volberding
12:42 PM – Wednesday, October 18, 2023

A 4.1 magnitude earthquake hit Northern California, causing locals across the region to get emergency notifications on their phones.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), on Wednesday at approximately 9:29 a.m., the 4.1 magnitude earthquake was recorded at a depth of 10.8 km, which is almost 2.5 miles south-southwest of Isleton, a city just outside of Sacramento.

Isleton is located in Sacramento County, approximately 28 miles northwest of Stockton.

MyShake, an app that notifies users when earthquakes have been detected, warned local residents that this quake was much stronger that previous one detected in the area.

However, this report created immediate confusion for some local residents, stating that they “did not feel it.”

After receiving the MyShake alert, high school students in San Mateo County were instructed to drop, cover, and roll, even though the earthquake was not felt by the majority of residents in the area.

“Earthquake Detected!” the USGS ShakeAlert said. “Drop, Cover, Hold On. Protect Yourself.”

The city manager of Isleton, Chuck Bergson, announced that city officials received the alert regarding the earthquake about 30 seconds after it occurred.

Bergson shared that there have been several calls from locals who voiced that their home items were falling from the shelves. He also stated that the city of Isleton sent out professionals to inspect the roads and bridges.

Jack Doelscher, who lives in the area and was residing at Java Jack’s Cafe in Isleton when the shaking began, said that he immediately felt the impacts.

“Oh, it was a good rocking,” he told the press. “But we survived.”

No major impacts were reportedly felt by residents on the west side of the city, and others located in the Bay Area similarly reported that they did not feel anything.

My phone buzzed with the #earthquake alert but I didn’t feel a thing here in #Oakland. Initially reported as a 5.7 in Sacramento County but now downgraded to a 4.5 in the Delta (Isleton, which is in Sac County). My dog didn’t even bark.
— Doug Sovern (@SovernNation) October 18, 2023

The earthquake came just one day before California is scheduled to hold a statewide examination of its earthquake readiness, referred to as the Great Annual California ShakeOut.

The massive drill will ask residents to “drop, cover, and hold on” on October 19^th at around 10 a.m.

As part of the statewide ShakeOut, almost 2.8 million users of California’s MyShake app will receive alerts to test earthquake notifications with warnings in English and Spanish for a 5.0 imaginary earthquake that is centered around Northern California.

As of now, local officials in the Isleton area have not received reports of severe damages or injuries from the earthquake.

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