It was the first seismic event to take place along the fault line since 1868- when a massive 7.0 earthquake that was dubbed “the great San Francisco earthquake,” hit.
The name was later passed on to the 7.9 quake in 1906 along the San Andreas, but the Hayward quake remained a legend having claimed the lives of 30 people and caused millions in damages.
“The past five major earthquakes on the fault have been about 140 years apart, and now we're 147 years from that 1868 earthquake, so we definitely feel like that could happen any time." Tom Brocher, a scientist at the USGS, told CBS San Francisco.
The location of the fault also causes concern, as it runs directly under the Bay Area.
“We keep a close eye on the Hayward fault because it does sit in the heart of the Bay Area and when we do get a big earthquake on it, it's going to have a big impact on the entire Bay Area," Brocher continued.
California is at extreme risk when dealing with seismic events as it contains many densely populated cities and old structures built directly above the faults.
