A 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck central California on 28 September 2004, centered about 11 kilometers southeast of Parkfield along the San Andreas Fault. No injuries or damage were immediately reported, according to seismic authorities.
The US Geological Survey placed the quake at 10:15 a.m. local time and confirmed the 6.0 magnitude after briefly wavering between 5.9 and 6.0. The tremor was felt as far away as San Francisco, roughly 350 kilometers to the northwest.
A 5.0-magnitude aftershock followed within four minutes, and more than 40 additional aftershocks, some reaching 4.7, rattled the region over the next half hour. Paso Robles Mayor Frank Mecham said residents gathered in the town square but reported no new damage.
The Parkfield area typically experiences a quake of at least magnitude 6.0 roughly once every 22 years. The September event came nine months after a 6.5-magnitude quake centered near San Simeon killed two people in Paso Robles and caused the worst California damage since a 6.7 tremor hit Los Angeles in 1994.
Separately, UCLA seismologist Vladimir Keilis-Borok had predicted a major southern California quake by 5 September but retracted the forecast a day before the deadline, citing flawed data.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in September 2004, in its own words.