Earthquake Story

Who - the citizens of San Francisco Bay
What - an earthquake
When - 8:12 a.m. Monday morning
Where - San Francisco Bay
Why - it injured many people and killed others
How - by causing buildings to fall

At 8:12 a.m. Monday morning, an earthquake shook the ground of San Francisco Bay causing many citizens to be injured or killed by falling buildings.

The Hayward firefighters used ropes to stabilize a building that collapsed and rescue six injured people inside.

"I was eating breakfast when the room started rolling. I dove under the table just as I head an explosion outside and a chunk of cement flew through my kitchen window. That's when the screaming started across the street," Hayward resident Mike Beamer said.

The morning was like any other morning until the ground started to roll in the hills of Hayward.

"A building housing McHenry's Auto Supply at 2342 Plum St. partially collapsed, killing two people and injuring six others," information officer from the Hayward Fire Department Jennifer Vu said.

The earthquake caused a lot of damage but emergency workers provided help quickly and efficiently.

"Twenty-one fire personnel, twelve police and five American red Cross workers responded to the building collapse, with some arriving within four minutes of the quake," Vu said.

The earthquake occurred on the Hayward Fault running under the hills.

"The epicenter of the earthquake, which had a magnitude of 6.4 on the Richter scale, was under the Hayward Hills," Penny Gertz, a scientist from the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, said.

Although there were six people injured in the building collapse, not all of them required drastic medical assistance.

"Three of the six people injured were hurt serious enough to require hospitalization and were transported to Hayward General Hospital," Vu said.

Due to the fact that the quake was high on the Richter scale, people outside of Hayward felt the rumbles of it as well.

"People as far south as Los Angeles and as far north as Redding felt the quake," Gertz said.