Magnitude 6.4 quake shakes Northern California, 70,000 lose power
SFGATE – By David Curran/Amy Graff – Dec 20, 2022
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake near the Northern California town of Ferndale shook the Humboldt County region early Tuesday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Tens of thousands of PG&E customers lost power and there was considerable damage to at least one bridge due to the shaker, according to multiple news outlets.
The earthquake hit at 2:34 a.m. with a depth of 11.1 miles. The epicenter was just off the coast of Humboldt County, 9.3 miles west-southwest of Ferndale, a small community (population 15,000) about 210 miles northwest of San Francisco.
“Due to a large earthquake, widespread damages to roads and homes are reported throughout Humboldt County,” the county’s office of emergency services tweeted. “Be prepared for aftershocks. Check gas and water lines for damages or leaks.”
No fatalities were immediately reported, said Brian Ferguson, a spokesperson for the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.
There is “some damage” to buildings and infrastructure, and two hospitals in the area lost power and were running on generators, but the scale of the damage appeared to be “minimal” compared to the strength of the quake, he said.
State Route 211, the main road in and out of Ferndale, and a bridge along the highway was closed due to damage.
The earthquake came just days after a small magnitude 3.6 earthquake struck the San Francisco Bay Area, waking up thousands of people at 3.39am Saturday and causing minor damage.
That earthquake was centered in El Cerrito, about a 16-mile (25km) drive to downtown San Francisco.
Posted by Teri Perticone
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