A 6.4-magnitude earthquake rocked parts of Northern California early Tuesday, knocking out power for thousands, causing widespread damage and leaving at least two people injured, officials said.
Tuesday morning, a flurry of aftershocks rumbled over Humboldt County, including one with a magnitude of 4.6 near the hamlet of Rio Dell, miles inland from the ocean.
Within 45 minutes of the first 6.4 quake, the U.S. Geological Survey documented at least 13 aftershocks. The majority of the aftershocks occurred inland to the east of the main quake.
The quake hit at a depth of 10 miles just after 5:30 a.m. ET near Eureka in Humboldt County, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It struck around 7.4 miles west-southwest of Ferndale, the agency said.
More than a dozen smaller earthquakes appeared to hit parts of the region afterward, it said.
At least two people were injured, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office said. The extent of their injuries was not immediately clear.
More than 70,000 utility customers were without power in Humboldt County as of 9 a.m. ET Tuesday, according to the online outage tracker Poweroutage.us.
According to CNBC, a seismologist with the USGS said people living near the coast reported feeling “significant shaking.” They said people could expect to see minor damage, including things falling off shelves, and could possibly see foundational damages.
The magnitude 6.4 earthquake comes almost exactly a year after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake hit offshore on December 21st, 2017 in the Northern California region of Cape Mendocino. There were no serious injuries or damages associated with that earthquake.
In 1992, the same region was rattled by a series of earthquakes that damaged more than 1,100 homes and businesses, the Los Angeles Times reported later that year.
The largest of the 1992 quakes measured 7.2, about 10 times the magnitude of Monday’s quake.
