2.8 quake jolts Berkeley area Thursday morning

BERKELEY — A 2.8 magnitude earthquake jolted the area early Thursday morning, bringing to more than a dozen the number of aftershocks since a 4.3 quake Monday morning, officials said.

No injuries or damage were immediately reported in the 5:55 a.m. Thursday quake, which officials with the U.S. Geological Survey said was centered 8.4 kilometers beneath the surface 3 kilometers southeast of Berkeley.

But it did rattle residents’ nerves, considering there have been at least a dozen small quakes and aftershocks since Monday, all centered in the Berkeley area.

They have ranged from 1.0 to 3.0 in magnitude, many occurring on Tuesday from early morning to late afternoon.

Monday’s 4.3 earthquake, which was along the Hayward-Rodgers Creek Fault and woke up thousands about 3 a.m., was the largest in the Bay Area in three years.

Experts have said it is not uncommon for such activity after a large quake such as Monday’s and it could continue for days or weeks longer. The USGS said there is an 11 percent chance of a quake of 3 or more magnitude in the next week.