Stanford's emergency management contingencies were activated just after 8 p.m. this evening, when a 5.6 magnitude earthquake rocked the University and sent shock waves across campus. Officials say the situation is now under control.

The quake - whose epicenter was in the Diablo Range foothills nine miles northeast of San Jose - set in motion a series of events dictated by the University's emergency management protocols.

“Very shortly after the earthquake was felt, the University activated its situation, triage and assessment team (STAT)," said Keith Perry, manager of Stanford's Emergency Management program. "Members of the STAT team have checked in and there are no current reports of damage on Stanford campus.“

Perry said the STAT team is one "that activates when an event occurs to assess the magnitude and determine if any further action is required."

He also emphasized that his team was in control of the events following the quake, which was, at magnitude 5.6, the Bay Area's most powerful tremor since the 6.9 magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake killed 62 people in 1989.

“The University is monitoring the situation,” Perry said at 8:30 p.m.

An hour later, University spokesperson Elaine Ray reaffirmed that there had been no reports of damage on campus and that the University had issued a number of responses through various outlets.

"We posted a notice on the University Web site, the emergency Web site (emergency.stanford.edu) and we updated the emergency hotline at (650) 725-5555," Ray said. "The University will be open for all scheduled classes, activities and normal business tomorrow."

For more than an hour following the 30-second tremor, cell phones and landlines worked only sporadically in and around Palo Alto, as residents and students hurried to the phones to call friends and loved ones.

Students who felt the tremor did not know how to respond.

"It was my first earthquake ever," said Sasha Zbrozek '10. "So it was a totally new experience, and I was really hoping for aftershocks.

"We were standing around talking, and we kept talking for a while as it kept going," he added. "Then we blinked, looked around and asked each other what to do."

While members of the University's emergency management team mobilized to assess the situation and students wondered what had happened, others were quick to downplay the significance of the quake, which Emeritus Engineering Prof. Helmut Krawinkler called "moderate."

"A 5.6 quake is moderate," he said. "You don't really expect too much of a problem except in very poorly constructed buildings."

Krawinkler, who said his son in San Jose reported no damage in the city, added that the size of the quake could be changed when scientists get a better read on the situation tomorrow.

"When they look at it tomorrow, [the magnitude] may change to 5.5 or 5.4," he said. "It may even be 5.7."