Powerful Earthquake in California, Magnitude 7.0, People Shaken, Tsunami Warning Lifted

Washington, December 6 : A powerful earthquake struck California on Thursday morning. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.0 on the Richter scale. Following the quake, a tsunami warning was issued, but it was lifted after about an hour. According to The New York Times, the tremors were felt about 30 miles off the coast of California. Subsequently, emergency tsunami alerts were sent to over 500,000 cellphones. In the rural area closest to the earthquake's epicenter, grocery store shelves were left with scattered cans and bottles.

Despite the magnitude of 7.0, there was minimal damage, primarily due to the earthquake’s epicenter being located in a remote area of the Pacific Ocean, 200 miles north of the San Francisco Bay. Margit Cook, a 73-year-old clerk at a general store near the epicenter in Petrolia, said she had never experienced such strong tremors in her 53 years. Even a large refrigerator had rolled onto the kitchen floor. According to SitePowerOutage.com, over 10,000 homes in Humboldt County lost power due to the quake. Following the initial tremor, more than a dozen aftershocks were recorded along the northern California coast.

This event is reminiscent of the 1989 catastrophic earthquake in Northern California, which had a magnitude of 6.9, resulting in 63 deaths and over 3,700 injuries. Similarly, the 1994 earthquake in Southern California, near Los Angeles' Northridge neighborhood, killed 60 people and injured nearly 7,000, with more than 40,000 buildings damaged.

Thursday’s earthquake occurred at 10:44 AM Pacific Time in an area known as the Mendocino Triple Junction, which is the convergence of three major tectonic plates. According to Lucy Jones, former chief of the USGS Natural Hazards Research Division, the interaction of these plates causes frequent earthquakes. Dr. Jones added that an earthquake of similar strength in California’s densely populated regions would be devastating. The earthquake was a "strike-slip" type, in which tectonic plates move primarily horizontally, making a large tsunami unlikely.

Christine Goulet, director of the USGS Earthquake Science Center, stated that the location of the quake was unexpected. Residents near the epicenter described the tremor as feeling like being in a shaking elevator. About 50 miles northeast of the epicenter, Sue Nichols, the assistant principal of an elementary school in Eureka, said she was on vacation when the strong tremor occurred. She quickly took shelter under a desk in her family room, watching as the house swayed and lamps swung back and forth. When she later arrived at school, she found that the children had been evacuated to the playground.