The elevator fell multiple floors with someone inside and abruptly stopped when the emergency brakes were activated. While the brakes fortunately kept the elevator from crashing into the bottom of the elevator shaft, the sudden stop caused the person to sustain moderate to severe injuries.
The rods are the central element of a novel seismic-responsive structural system that is designed to help the building snap back to its original shape in the event of a major earthquake. Their trick is an embedded cluster of taut cables made from a highly flexible compound called a shape-memory alloy that's capable of bending under tension-like the lateral shaking in a California earthquake-and then straightening out.
We are deeply saddened to share that at approximately 6:50 a.m. this morning, a 38 Geary bus was travelling west (outbound) on Geary Boulevard near Keany Street, when a male pedestrian reportedly fell from the sidewalk and made contact with the Muni bus.
A magnitude 3.4 earthquake rumbled in the South Bay on Tuesday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The temblor struck at 6:48 a.m. and its epicenter was approximately 15 miles south of San Jose and 5 miles east-northeast of Gilroy. At least two small aftershocks were reported in the area shortly after the initial shaker; those shocks measured magnitude 1.3 and magnitude 1.0 respectively.
Scientists used satellite data to study vertical land motion from 2015 to 2023. Findings revealed that regional studies substantially underestimate sea level rise. NASA projects more than double the expected rise by 2050.
The city passed legislation nearly 18 months ago requiring property owners to retrofit their multi-story, wooden-frame buildings with at least three units constructed before 1990. It delayed implementation, however, when the federal government rolled back significant funding to facilitate the repairs. But after a court-granted injunction required the release of some of those federal funds, the city approved a $1.6 million pilot financing program in hopes of rolling out a larger critical life-safety initiative in the future.
An earthquake measuring at a preliminary magnitude of 4.3 shook Sonoma County on Saturday morning around 9:22 a.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The temblor struck about 3.7 miles north-northwest of the Geysers, close to Healdsburg in the North Bay. Originally the quake was measured at a preliminary magnitude of 3.9 but that was revised to a preliminary 4.3 later in the morning by the USGS.
Earthquakes usually strike without warning. But sometimes they come in clusters dozens or even hundreds of small quakes concentrated in one area over days or weeks. Geologists call these clusters earthquake swarms, and while they can be unsettling, scientists say they rarely signal that a major quake is imminent. Unlike the familiar pattern of a single large earthquake followed by aftershocks, swarms consist of many small quakes without a clear mainshock.
Seven vehicles were involved in two pileups that occurred in a five-minute period Monday on the Golden Gate Bridge, the California Highway Patrol reported. The crashes happened at about 7:30 a.m. in the southbound lanes, CHP Officer Arthur Tellez said. One crash involved four vehicles and the other three. No injuries were reported. The crashes are under investigation. Police suspect unsafe speeds were involved in both incidents. The crashes blocked traffic lanes for about 30 minutes.