Large quake hits off northern California; Tsunami warning issued, then canceled
US Geological Survey says 7.0-magnitude quake recorded at a depth of just 10 km; millions of residents had been urged to flee for higher ground
A powerful earthquake that struck off the coast of California sparked a brief tsunami warning on Thursday, with residents warned to flee to higher ground before the alert was canceled around 45 minutes later.
Seismologists at the US Geological Survey said the shallow 7.0 magnitude tremor hit around 68 kilometers (42 miles) from the coastal town of Ferndale mid-morning, with people living in the area experiencing strong ground shakes.
At least 5.3 million people in California were under a tsunami warning after the 7.0-magnitude temblor, the US Geological Survey said in a yellow alert, which predicted localized but minimal damage. The quake was felt as far south as San Francisco, where residents felt a rolling motion for several seconds. It was followed by smaller aftershocks.
There were no immediate reports of major damage or injury.
The quake struck at 10:44 a.m. west of Ferndale, a small city in coastal Humboldt County near the Oregon border, according to the USGS.
A tsunami warning was issued shortly after the temblor struck and covered nearly 500 miles (805 km) of coastline, from the edge of California’s Monterey Bay north into Oregon.
Smartphone users received warnings urging them to move to higher ground immediately, AFP reporters in the area said.
“A series of powerful waves and strong currents may impact coasts near you,” the warning said. “You are in danger. Get away from coastal waters.”
The National Weather Service, which issued the warning, withdrew it around midday, shortly before the first waves had been expected.
The quake appeared to have been felt across the region, including in the San Francisco Bay Area, where some people said they had felt rolling waves underfoot.
Tsunami Warning 1 for areas of OR & N. CA: See https://t.co/npoUHxX900 for alert areas. M7.3 045mi SW Eureka, California 1044PST Dec 5 pic.twitter.com/NFCbU5EaKa
— NWS Tsunami Alerts (@NWS_NTWC) December 5, 2024
Marc Buller, an attorney who lives in Eureka, a port city in northern California close to the offshore epicenter, said he had experienced a lot of quakes, but this one felt unusual.
“It was an intense jolt. When the big jolt stopped, it felt like the house was on rollers,” he told AFP.
“It was like when you throw a big stone in water and the ripples go out, it was like the earth was doing that.”
The US West Coast is the confluence of several of the Earth’s tectonic plates, and tremors are not uncommon.
The area has been struck by several major earthquakes, including a 1994 quake that hit Northridge, in the Los Angeles area, killing dozens of people and injuring thousands more, as it wrought billions of dollars of damage to homes and infrastructure.
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906, which also caused a tsunami, is thought to have killed upwards of 3,000 people, some of whom died in fires that erupted after the powerful tremor.
