A series of earthquakes struck the northern California coast on Thursday morning, rattling communities and activating emergency alerts for both shaking and tsunami risks just before 11am local time.
The largest, registered as a magnitude 7.0 and originating near the historic and picturesque town of Ferndale in Humboldt county, could be felt in San Francisco more than 260 miles (418km) away. Roughly 1.3 million people felt the shaking, according to initial estimates provided by the US Geological Survey (USGS), which also reported that risks to human life remained low.
Cellphones buzzed throughout the region, warning of the incoming shaking and offering ample time to brace and cover. Tsunami alerts also rang out for at least 5.3 million people on the California coast and into Oregon, warning of large waves, strong currents and coastal flooding that could persist through the afternoon.
Following the alert, Bay Area Rapid Transit trains were held as underground stations were cleared, as major delays were announced throughout the system, and the San Francisco fire department began clearing the beaches. The tsunami warning was withdrawn shortly after noon as officials announced the highest risks had subsided.
Some affected areas, especially those that hug the coast and were recently saturated with rain, could be prone to landslides, USGS data shows.
No immediate damage reports were made available, but the USGS issued a “yellow alert” signifying that “some damage is possible and the impact should be relatively localized”.
“Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are resistant to earthquake shaking, though vulnerable structures exist,” the USGS said in a bulletin, noting that brick masonry construction poses the highest risk.
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Videos of the aftermath posted online by local reporters showed grocery store shelves in disarray and shattered glasses and bottles lining bar floors. Residents shared images of cupboard contents that had been thrown to the flood. By early afternoon, only minor damage had been reported.