A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off the coast of northern California at 10:44 a.m. on Wednesday, rattling cities as far south as Oakland, in response to a preliminary estimate from the U.S. Geological Survey.
The epicenter was below the Pacific Ocean, about 65 miles off the coast of Eureka un Humboldt County, originating about 0.6 miles beneath floor. The strongest shaking occurred within the small city of Petrolia.
A tsunami alert was issued for San Mateo, Santa Cruz and Marin coasts. There have been no quick reviews of accidents or harm.
The quake occurred alongside a stressed area the place three tectonic plates converge, referred to as the Mendocino Triple Junction, the place the Pacific, Gorda, and North American tectonic plates meet. It’s thought of a part of the Cascadia subduction zone which extends additional north alongside the coast; this space is thought for frequent earthquake exercise because of the complicated plate interactions there.
It’s unrelated to the Bay Space’s three main faults. The San Andreas Fault runs roughly 750 miles by way of California between Cape Mendocino to San Diego, together with the Peninsula. The Hayward Fault runs roughly 74 miles alongside the western base of the densely populated East Bay Hills.The Calaveras Fault runs roughly 76 miles from Hollister to Danville.
For northern Californians, the most certainly supply of a harmful quake is the Hayward-Rodgers Creek Fault, with a 31 p.c likelihood within the subsequent 30 years. This fault runs by way of the center of East Bay cities. The Hayward part of the fault runs from close to Mount Distress, east of San Jose, north to San Pablo Bay. The Rodgers Creek portion picks up from there and runs north to Santa Rosa.
The final main earthquake within the Bay Space was the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake — a magnitude 6.9 quake that struck on Oct. 17, 1989, within the Santa Cruz Mountains. It killed 62 individuals and triggered $6 billion in damages. The most important earthquake since Loma Prieta shook Napa in August 2014 with a magnitude of 6.0. Nobody was killed within the quake however a whole lot of buildings had been broken and dozens had been red-tagged. Earlier than that, a magnitude 5.4 temblor hit close to Alum Rock in San Jose in 2007.
In 2014, a panel of specialists estimated that there’s a 72 p.c likelihood that within the subsequent 30 years the San Francisco Bay Space will expertise an earthquake no less than as highly effective because the magnitude 6.7 Northridge earthquake that rocked Southern California in 1994. There’s a far larger likelihood — 99 p.c — {that a} smaller however nonetheless substantial magnitude 6.0 earthquake will strike throughout that point.
The size of earthquake measurement is logarithmic: a recording of seven, for instance, signifies a disturbance with floor movement 10 instances as giant as a recording of 6. An earthquake of magnitude 2 is the smallest measurement usually felt by people. Earthquakes measuring 5 or increased are probably damaging.
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 has been estimated at a magnitude 8.3. The earthquake that leveled the capital of Haiti measured 7.
As with all giant earthquake, there’s a risk of damaging aftershocks. If an aftershock happens, the USGS recommends that people who find themselves indoors keep there, taking shelter below a bit of furnishings, in a hallway or in opposition to an inside wall, away from home windows, fireplaces and heavy objects.
If you’re outdoor, get into the open away from buildings, energy strains and different issues that might fall. If driving, cease fastidiously and transfer out of site visitors. Keep away from bridges, timber and different falling objects. Keep in your automobile till the shaking stops.
Initially Revealed: December 5, 2024 at 11:15 AM PST
