A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck California near the town of Petrolia, about 265 miles north of San Francisco, Thursday morning generating a strong shake and a now-discontinued tsunami warning that stretched from southern Oregon to San Fransisco.
More than 150,000 people could have been exposed to earthquake shaking, between just north of Fort Bragg to Eureka, according to U.S. Geological Survey estimates.
The quake occurred at 10:44 a.m. local time near the sparsely populated northern coast of California, just offshore, and was felt across Humboldt County. By 12:30 p.m., less than two hours after the initial quake, the area had experienced 13 different aftershocks, ranging from 5.1 to 3.1, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. By 2:30 p.m., the USGS had reported at least 39 aftershocks of at least a 2.5 magnitude in the region, including Petrolia and Ferndale.
Despite the strong jolt, no earthquake-related injuries or major damages were reported, Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services said in an 8:30 p.m. advisory Thursday, adding damage assessments across the county are ongoing. Dr. Stephen DeLong, a geologist with the Earthquake Science Center at the U.S.G.S., at a news briefing explained the reason behind this was that the earthquake was a “largely horizontal motion,” meaning the two faults had slid past each other. He added the earthquake struck offshore and was not particularly deep.
Watch: Car shakes violently as earthquake strikes California
A home camera video from Humboldt County captured a car shaking violently as the earthquake struck on the San Andreas fault, which runs along the coastline.
A guide to how they’re measured: Earthquakes happen all the time, you just can’t feel them.
Watch: Cannabis room shakes as magnitude 7.0 earthquake strikes California
Another video from California shows plants and overhead lights in a cannabis grow room rattle as the magnitude 7.0 quake strikes.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: California earthquake: Videos show impact of magnitude 7.0 earthquake
