Vallejo suffers serious damage in the Bay Area earthquake

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ByAlan Wang KGO logo
Monday, August 25, 2014
Extensive damage in Vallejo caused by earthquake
Authorities are still assessing the earthquake damage in Vallejo following Sunday's 6.0 earthquake centered in American Canyon.

VALLJEO, Calif. (KGO) -- From the former Mare Island Naval Base to Tennessee Street, downtown Vallejo also suffered some serious damage from the quake.

A total of 41 structures are damaged with the estimated cost at $5 million dollars.

Plenty of weakened buildings have yet to be assessed by Vallejo inspectors.

"None of the injuries we learned of were major in nature," said Lt. Kevin Hamrick of Vallejo Police Department.

Some of the worst damage is downtown where a brick wall fell through the roof and the second story floor of this vacant building.

"We have multiple buildings in downtown Vallejo and I've retrofitted all of them except this one. This was the next one coming about," said building owner Josh Voss.

Bricks toppled off of the First United Methodist Church and five stores on this stretch Tennessee Street had shattered windows.

On Mare Island, most of the chimneys on these Captain's Row mansions are heaped on the ground. Still, many people were surprised there wasn't more damage considering the magnitude of the quake.

"It was amazing at how much the ground moved up and down. It was a rolling effect like a wave," said Lt. Hamrick.

"I think there's less damage than I thought there might have been. Yeah, it was a pretty good shake," said Paul Reinhertz of Vallejo.

Despite it all, many residents in Vallejo remain unshaken.