Napa struck by earthquake

California’s Napa Valley has been struck by an earthquake, waking residents with loud rumbles near its epicentre.

The seismograph showing the strength of the Napa quake (Photo: US Geological Survey)

According to the U.S. Geological Survey the 3.2 scale earthquake struck at 5:40 a.m on Tuesday, with the centre of the quake placed about three miles southwest of Napa, as reported by local media outlet KTVU. 

Public officials told the station there are not currently any reports of damage. However, comments from local residents written on the KTVU Facebook page tell that the quake was powerful.

One resident said that it felt “like a truck hit the house”, while another posted, “It woke me up from a dead sleep. It was loud!”

However, others have downplayed the seismic event.

“Bark was worse than the bite,” posted Michael Juri who works at Sterling Winery.

Meanwhile, Mike Mansuy posted, “I live in Napa and missed it. My neighbors felt it. Weird.”

The quake comes at one of the most important times in the wine region’s calendar as it begins the 2014 harvest.

And the valley, while famed for its beauty, is also no stranger to natural disasters such as this. Early last month Napa experienced one of its worst wildfires which seriously threatened the valuable vines of the region.