Earthquake strikes in Mercuryville, no damage reported

OAKLAND, Calif. - The United States Geological Survey on Wednesday night reported a 3.1-magnitude earthquake in Mercuryville, north of Santa Rosa.

The quake struck at 8:23 p.m. There was no damage reported as a result. The tremor was 3.2 kilometers below the surface.

The area around Mercuryville has, as reported by the USGS, experienced numerous small earthquakes in recent months.

Dig deeper:

Cities closer to the Bay Area have also been shaken, especially the San Ramon area.

There have been swarms of earthquakes in that community in recent months, prompting hundreds of residents to attend a town hall meeting over concerns for their safety.

What they're saying:

At that meeting San Ramon Mayor Mark Armstrong, a former FEMA official said, "That’s why I wanted to emphasize about being informed, about having making a plan, and getting a kit and doing the things that individuals can do to be ready for a big earthquake."

Don Parker, a former Oakland assistant fire chief and PIO and Vallejo fire chief who's now a director with San Ramon fire district said there are ways to prepare for quakes. 

"Make sure you have contact people to talk to outside the area because you recall, you lose power. Everyone's trying to call in, everyone's trying to call out," Parker said.

Dr. Angie Lux of the Berkeley Seismology Lab, speaking at that town hall said earthquake swarms are not necessarily an indicator that a large quake is approaching.

"So we can’t tell you that there’s going to be another big earthquake — and we also can’t tell you that there’s not going to be another big earthquake," Lux said. "We do know that this has been a very energetic swarm."