Professor Genie Stowers sent an email to relatives saying federal geologists are predicting a magnitude 6.0 quake in Berkeley in the next two to three weeks.
She says a student, who's an assistant to a Berkeley City Council member, told her class that geologists told the City Council that recent small quakes in Berkeley were an indicator of a bigger one to come.
The U.S. Geological Survey says a scientific organization wouldn't make a statement like that.
Stowers is now apologizing, saying she only meant it's good to be prepared.