This 6.4 magnitude earthquake off the Pacific coast caused landslides and cut power to tens of thousands of people.
At least two people died Tuesday, December 20, in northern California after a powerful earthquake off the American coast that caused landslides and cut power to tens of thousands of people.
The 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck overnight about 40 kilometers southwest of the port city of Eureka in Humboldt County, according to the United States Institute of Geophysics (USGS). In that area, more than a four-hour drive from San Francisco, “two people died as a result of medical emergencies that occurred during and/or shortly after the earthquake,” the county said in a press release without further details. According to the district, eleven people were also injured.
The quake also caused significant material damage and more than 74,000 homes and businesses were left without power at midday, according to specialist website PowerOutage. “Damage assessment is ongoing,” but the quake has already done “significant damage,” including to gas and water lines in the area, according to the local sheriff’s office.
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According to photos posted to Twitter by Dania Romero, a reporter for local KAEF TV, the quake destroyed a road leading to the small town of Fernbridge. Multiple photos and videos on social media show shattered windows of homes, items toppled from the shaking and a supermarket shelf littered with products falling off the shelves. Rockfalls and small rockfalls also occurred along a highway connecting Humboldt County to central California.
This western American country is regularly shaken by earthquakes. According to seismologists, it’s almost certain that within the next 30 years, California will be hit by an earthquake capable of causing widespread destruction. In 1994, a magnitude 6.7 earthquake in Northridge, northwest of Los Angeles, killed at least 60 people and caused damage estimated at $10 billion. In 1989, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake in San Francisco killed 67 people.