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| Collapsed second-story porch of a house is seen after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck northern California. Photograph: Fred Greaves/Reuters |
An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 struck areas of northern California early on Tuesday morning, jolting people awake, causing damage to houses and roads, and leaving tens of thousands of people without electricity. According to a report that was made public on Tuesday afternoon by the Humboldt county sheriff's office, two deaths have been associated with the earthquake "as a result of medical issues happening during and/or soon following" the incident.
The earthquake's epicenter was located in Humboldt County, just southwest of the town of Ferndale. Ferndale is a tiny community located near the coast about 213 miles (343 kilometers) northwest of San Francisco. The earthquake occurred in a region where tremors are not unusual. However, residents of the area described it as the largest in living memory. Dan Dixon, a resident of Eureka for the past 40 years, remarked that the quake was "certainly the most severe earthquake we have felt in the 15 years I have lived here." Our bed was literally shifted as a result of it. But, he went on to say, his young child had slept all through it.
A little after 2.30am local time, phones all around the region began to vibrate to life, alerting locals of the impending shaking that was to follow. After a few moments, the concrete started to crack, the water pipes burst, and picture frames started falling off the walls. According to the California governor's office of emergency services, the warning system of the state issued an alert to around 3 million people across the region, providing them with at least ten seconds to seek cover. According to data gathered by the United States Geological Survey, the shaking could be felt for miles along the western coast, all the way from south of San Jose, California, to Oregon in the north. According to the California Earthquake Observatory, there were 80 significant aftershocks that also rattled the region following the earthquake, some of which were as intense as 4.6 magnitude, and more are anticipated. USGS experts stated on Tuesday at a news conference that the probability of an aftershock with a magnitude greater than 5 is always changing, but there is currently a 13% possibility that such an aftershock would occur within the next week.
Officials are still tallying up the overall number of injuries, according to the head of the California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), Mark Ghilarducci. Eleven persons have been recorded as having been hurt.There are still dangers involved, since aftershocks have the potential to further destroy already fragile infrastructure. The most hazardous aspects, however, are the nonstructural components, such as unanchored televisions, plates, and bookcases.
