A 4.4 magnitude earthquake awakened Bay Area residents earlier this morning.
Centered along the Oakland-Berkeley border by the Hayward fault is an area seismologists concern with being disturbed.
Although the degree of the quake will not cause major damage, a stronger shake in the heavily populated area is feared. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the population living on top of the Hayward fault line are at risks 100 times greater than the last major earthquake to hit in 1868. During that time, a 6.8 quake destroyed a number of buildings and killed 30 people.
From then the area rebuilt itself, but the fault line shows sign of “creeping” a term pointing to the gradual slip of the earth. Already, buildings like Hayward City Hall show signs of erosion due to it sitting on a fault line.
As well, schools in the area are in grave danger. A 2011 report by Corey Johnson revealed that schools in the area and throughout the state are ill-equipped and built to not sustain in a major quake.
California officials know that major earthquakes are inevitable and have set up emergency plans to deal with the crisis.
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