3rd earthquake in 4 days shakes San Francisco Bay Area; no injuries reported

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) A third small earthquake in four days rattled the San Francisco Bay Area on Saturday, but there were no reports of injury or damage. <br/><br/>The temblor that struck at 9:21 a.m.

Saturday, December 23rd 2006, 4:58 pm

By: News On 6

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) A third small earthquake in four days rattled the San Francisco Bay Area on Saturday, but there were no reports of injury or damage.

The temblor that struck at 9:21 a.m. had a preliminary magnitude of 3.5 and a depth of about 6.1 miles, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The epicenter was about 2 miles from Berkeley and 3 miles from Emeryville, across the bay from San Francisco.

Residents throughout the Bay Area reported feeling the jolt, but police said there were no reports of injuries.

The latest earthquake was similar in magnitude and location to those that struck Wednesday and Friday.

They erupted along the Hayward Fault, which geologists believe is due for a quake in the potentially lethal 6.7 to 7.0 range.

But the minor earthquakes should not be interpreted as omens of a more destructive one to come, said Jessica Sigala, a geophysicist with the National Earthquake Information Center.

``It could mean there's something coming, it could mean there's nothing coming,'' Sigala said. ``It just means the area is active, more active than it's been.''