Historic Earthquakes

Near Livermore, California
1980 01 27 02:33:36.0 UTC (local 01/26)
Magnitude 5.8
Intensity VII

A second damaging earthquake, near the south end of the Greenville fault (about 14 kilometers south of the January 24 epicenter), occurred on January 27. Six persons were injured at Livermore by flying glass and falling ceiling tiles and supports. It caused 1-2 millimeters of additional right-lateral movement on the Greenville fault across Laughlin Road as well as additional movement and displacements along the surface rupture of January 24, north of Vasco Road.

The most severe property damage was in the Tassajaro Valley area and at Danville, about 17 and 28 kilometers, respectively northwest of the epicenter. In Tassajaro Valley (east of Danville), about 50 houses sustained minor damage, including one fireplace damaged, walls and concrete cracked, walls separated from ceiling, windows broken, and a chimney toppled. Damage at Danville included one brick chimney broken at the roofline; a fireplace damaged; a stone wall demolished; and walls, ceilings, sidewalks, and patio cracked. Light damage was sustained at several other towns in the area. Felt over a moderate area of central California.

Abridged from Seismicity of the United States, 1568-1989 (Revised), by Carl W. Stover and Jerry L. Coffman, U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1527, United States Government Printing Office, Washington: 1993.