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# Magnitude 3.6 earthquake shakes Berkeley, Bay Area
- URL: https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2022/12/17/disaster-preparedness/berkeley-earthquake/
- Published: 2022-12-17T11:50:56.000Z
- Updated: 2022-12-20T23:52:51.000Z
- Description: The quake came at 3:39 a.m. with the epicenter in El Cerrito.
- Author: Emilie Raguso
- Tags: Disaster preparedness, #articles, Earthquakes, Breaking news

An earthquake rattled Berkeley early Saturday morning and appears to have been the strongest shaker in the area in some time.

The quake came at 3:39 a.m. with the epicenter in El Cerrito north of Berkeley. 

The [3.6 magnitude earthquake](https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/ew1671277180/executive?ref=berkeleyscanner.com) had a depth of about 3.6 miles, according to U.S. Geological Survey reports.

Many people said the earthquake woke them up and felt intense.

"Set off a car alarm on our street. The motion of that one was crazy," wrote [one local resident](https://twitter.com/alison%5Fking/status/1604082095910854656?ref=berkeleyscanner.com) on Twitter.

"Wow. That was the [biggest one I felt in years](https://twitter.com/stefanlasiewski/status/1604082297153605634?ref=berkeleyscanner.com). No alert from @[USGS\_ShakeAlert](https://twitter.com/USGS%5FShakeAlert?ref=berkeleyscanner.com), nothing initially on [https://earthquake.usgs.gov](https://earthquake.usgs.gov/?ref=berkeleyscanner.com) or Google Homepage. Surprising!" tweeted Stefan Lasiewski.

"Set off my house alarm. [Felt like a bus hit my house](https://twitter.com/arielnavaphoto/status/1604079251539361793?ref=berkeleyscanner.com)," wrote Ariel Nava.

"It sounded [louder than Loma Prieta](https://twitter.com/Yeegeefoto/status/1604082682547548160?ref=berkeleyscanner.com), though I was outdoors when that one struck," wrote David Yee.

Residents in Benicia, Hercules and San Francisco also told The Scanner that they felt it.

The [last earthquake widely felt in Berkeley](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2022/09/12/disaster-preparedness/magnitude-2-9-earthquake-berkeley/) was in mid-September. It was a magnitude 2.9.

The [Bay Area's biggest earthquake](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2022/10/25/disaster-preparedness/magnitude-5-earthquake-berkeley-san-jose/) in recent months happened in late October when a 5.1 magnitude earthquake, followed by a magnitude 3.1 aftershock, hit 20 miles outside San Jose.

This story was updated as more information became available.