A magnitude 7 earthquake shook the northern coast of California this Thursday, triggering a tsunami warning that was later canceled by authorities.
An earthquake shook Northern California this Thursday, causing authorities to issue a tsunami warning that was later canceled, according to authorities.
The earthquake occurred at 10:44 a.m. at a depth of 10 km, and had its epicenter about 63 km west of the city of Ferndale, a sparsely populated area of the northern California coast, the United States Geological Survey reported. .
About 19,000 customers were without power in Humboldt County, down from nearly zero before the quake, according to data from PowerOutage.us.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom's office wrote on social media that the authority “is now meeting with state emergency officials and working to ensure Californians are safe.”
The tremor was felt as far away as San Francisco, where residents experienced undulating motion for several seconds. It was followed by minor aftershocks.
The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, known as BART, has stopped traffic in all directions through the undersea tunnel between San Francisco and Oakland.
At least 5.3 million people in California were under a tsunami warning after the magnitude 7.0 earthquake, the Geological Survey said in a yellow alert, predicting localized but minimal damage.
More than 1.3 million people lived close enough to the quake to have felt it, the service estimated.
In the Santa Cruz area, phones buzzed with a tsunami warning from the National Weather Service that said: “A series of powerful waves and strong currents may impact shorelines near you. You are in danger. Stay away from coastal waters. Move to high ground or inland now. Stay away from the coast until local officials say it is safe to return.”
(With information from Reuters and The Associated Press)