Magnitude-3.7 quake rattles San Francisco Bay area12/20/06 19:42:31

A small earthquake struck the San Francisco Bay area Wednesday evening, but there were no immediate reports of injury or damage.
The quake, which struck at 7:12 p.m., had a preliminary magnitude of 3.7 and was centered about 2 miles east of Berkeley, just across the bay from San Francisco, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

No one reported any damage or injuries, according to a Berkeley police dispatcher.

The temblor occurred on the Hayward Fault, which geologists believe is due for a large quake in the potentially lethal 6.7 to 7.0 range.

"It's a pretty small earthquake, but just another reminder we're eventually going to have the biggie here in the Bay Area," said David P. Schwartz, who has studied the Hayward Fault extensively as chief of the U.S. Geological Survey's Bay Area Earthquake Hazards Project.

The Great Quake of 1868 struck on the Hayward Fault, a magnitude 6.9 rumbler that killed five people. Severe quakes have happened on the Hayward Fault every 151 years, give or take 23 years, meaning it is now into the danger zone.

• Quakeprediction.com