Residents of the Bay Area were shaken awake Saturday morning when a magnitude 3.6 earthquake struck off the San Mateo coast near Colma.
The small quake occurred at 8:41 a.m., about 3.5 miles southwest of Colma and about 4.7 miles deep in the ocean, according to John Bellini, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center.
Bellini said it's highly unlikely that the tremor is a foreshock of a larger quake, but it's still too early to tell.
"This is part of the normal seismicity of California," he said. "And people need to be aware that they can have a large earthquake at any time."
There is no current tsunami watch or advisory in effect, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. Bellini said that makes sense for a quake of this magnitude.
"You need something in the 7 [magnitude] range to cause a tsunami," said Bellini.
There were no immediate reports of damages or injuries.
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