A 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck the Eureka area in Northern California early Tuesday morning, leaving tens of thousands of residents without electricity and causing injuries to at least two people, as well as damage to some buildings and a roadway, according to the US Geological Survey and CNN. The quake, which struck at 2:34 a.m. PT, was centered in the Pacific about 15 miles from Fortuna, a city of about 12,000 people located in Humboldt County's Redwood Coast region. Fortuna is located near Eureka and is about 280 miles northwest of Sacramento.
The earthquake caused widespread power outages in Humboldt County, with more than 71,000 outages reported shortly after 7:15 a.m. PT, affecting 99,000 customers tracked in the county, according to PowerOutage.us. This left thousands of residents without electricity as they tried to cope with the aftermath of the quake. The county sheriff's office also reported "widespread damages to roads and homes" throughout the region and said that at least two people were injured.
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In downtown Fortuna, some storefront windows were shattered and residents were seen boarding up the gaps on a rainy Tuesday morning. The earthquake also produced shaking from coastal Oregon to south of San Jose, California, according to the US Geological Survey. However, it posed no tsunami threat, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The quake comes a year after a 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit just off Humboldt County's Cape Mendocino on December 20, 2021, causing minor damage to buildings in the area.
The aftermath of the 6.4 magnitude earthquake has left many residents of Humboldt County struggling to deal with the loss of power and the damages caused by the quake. Emergency services and utility workers are working to restore power and repair the damages caused by the earthquake. It is important for residents to remain vigilant and follow any safety instructions issued by authorities in the wake of this natural disaster.
