A magnitude 6.4 earthquake rattled Northern California early Tuesday morning, causing widespread damage and leaving tens of thousands without power in Humboldt County.
The quake was reported at 2:34 a.m., about 7½ miles southwest of Ferndale, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. No tsunami was expected, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office said on Twitter, but the agency advised residents to prepare for aftershocks.
There have been dozens of aftershocks since the initial quake, according to the USGS, including a magnitude 4.6 shake 4½ miles northwest of Rio Dell.
Emergency dispatchers received two reports of injuries, including a broken bone and a head injury, with both patients expected to survive, said Samantha Karges, a public information officer with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office. There were no immediate reports of fatalities, according to the Sheriff’s Office, which said it was still gathering information from local dispatchers.
There was, however, extensive damage to roads and homes, Karges said. Most of the destruction is in Rio Dell, Fortuna, Ferndale and Scotia in the Eel River Valley. There was one confirmed structure fire in Rio Dell associated with the earthquake that has since been put out, said state Sen. Mike McGuire, a Democrat who represents Humboldt County.
According to PowerOutage.us, more than 70,000 people across Humboldt County — the majority of its residents— were without power. Pacific Gas & Electric was working to restore power, Karges said, adding that “there is no time available” for when services might come back online.
Several gas leaks were reported, as well as damage to water lines, Karges said. PG&E tweeted that it “initiated its emergency response plan, and crews are responding to gas and electric hazards.”
There were no reports of damage to major roads, said Sgt. Caleb Carsey with the California Highway Patrol in Humboldt County, who described the earthquake as “pretty violent.”
Fernbridge, a historic Humboldt County landmark built in 1911 on State Route 211, was closed Tuesday because the bridge was cracked in four places, according to a CHP incident log. Pictures on Twitter showed the pavement fractured in several places. Crews were dispatched for an integrity check, Carsey said.
The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services said on Twitter that it was coordinating with local and tribal governments on damage assessments and support with aid and other resources. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, California Geological Survey and the California Department of Transportation are among the agencies assisting in response efforts.
McGuire said that both state and local emergency systems have so far worked well together in this isolated coastal corner of California. “It’s a remote area of the Golden State,” McGuire said. “All levels of government [are working] together to ensure a rapid response.”
McGuire called Tuesday’s quake “a big one.”
“It is being described as a long, violent shake,” McGuire said. “Individual residents are reporting that entire bookshelves and kitchen cabinets were emptied by the shaking. This was not your typical shaker that Northern California is used to.”
Some residents reported receiving an electronic alert on their phone warning them of the earthquake. At least one resident said the alert came during the quake.
Jennifer Savage, 53, who lives on the Samoa Peninsula just outside Eureka, said she’s familiar with earthquakes, particularly small rumbles that hardly rouse her from bed. But “this was scary,” she said, adding that she received an alert, but her phone was on “Do Not Disturb” mode. “It was just really a violent shaking, not one of those rolling ones,” Savage said.
Her home was littered with broken glass, mostly from picture frames and cups falling off the walls and shelves. A glass of water on a bedside table wound up drenching her, she said.
“We were up for a while trying to do the best we could cleaning it up in the dark with a flashlight,” Savage said.
Arcata residents Amy Uyeki and Reese Hughes were asleep when they felt the earthquake. The power went off immediately.
“Afterwards, you feel sort of dizzy,” Uyeki, 65, said. “When it was happening, I thought it was the big one, because we haven’t felt anything this strong.”
The couple dropped to the floor and said the shaking lasted about 15 seconds. “This was very disconcerting, because it happened at nighttime, and you can’t see how much has gone down until you go around with your flashlight,” Hughes, 69, said. The earthquake yanked shelves off the walls and broke some items in the house, but the house’s structure was undamaged. Hughes said the last time he felt an earthquake of this magnitude was in April 1992, when a 7.1 quake rattled Humboldt County.
The quake struck along the coast south of Eureka in a seismically active part of California. It was felt across the North Coast region.
Exactly one year ago, the same area was hit by a magnitude 6.2 quake that shattered windows and caused other damage.
The USGS said Tuesday’s quake occurred just offshore, 17 miles from Eureka, 24 miles from Arcata and 30 miles from McKinleyville. It was followed by numerous aftershocks.
In the last 10 days, there have been no earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby.
An average of five earthquakes with magnitudes between 6.0 and 7.0 occur per year in California and Nevada, according to a recent three-year data sample.
