The earthquake resulted in many injuries and even a few deaths, also destroying buildings and infrastructure.
A building housing McHenry’s Auto Supply at 2342 Plum St. partially collapsed, killing two people and injuring six others. Jennifer Vu, a public information officeer from the Hayward Fire Department said "Names of the dead are being withheld pending notification of families".
Three of the six people injured were hurt seriously enough to require hospitalization and were transported to Hayward General Hospital. Vu added that "No other serious injuries have been reported in Hayward".
Hayward firefighters used ropes to stabilize the auto supply shop, conducting a search of the building and capped a gas line after detecting a gas leak at the site. "Twenty-one fire personnel, 12 police and five American Red Cross workers responded to the building collapse, with some arriving within four minutes of the quake", Vu said.
Hayward resident Mike Beamer, whose apartment is across the street from McHenry’s, said he felt a rolling motion that lasted for about 30 seconds, with a big jolt coming in the middle. “I was eating my breakfast when the room started rolling. I dove under the table just as I heard an explosion outside and a chunk of cement flew through my kitchen window. That’s when the screaming start across the street.”
The epicenter of the earthquake, which had a magnitude of 6.4 on the Richter scale, was under the Hayward Hills, according to Penny Gertz, a scientist from the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park. Gertz called the quake a “strong one” and said "it occurred on the Hayward Fault, which runs under the hills".
"People as far south as Los Angeles and as far north as Redding felt the quake", Gertz said.
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