An offshore earthquake struck Northern California Sunday night, which was mainly centered in the Pacific Ocean at a depth of 10 miles.
Sources say that the earthquake occurred around 10:18 p.m., 50 miles offshore of Eureka, Calif.
The magnitude of the quake was calculated at 6.9 and was immediately followed by nearly six aftershocks.
The quake itself was felt heavily throughout the region. Several aftershocks even made their way to the city of San Francisco and parts of Oregon.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the aftershocks scaled at 2.9, 3.7, and 4.6 magnitudes mainly in Ferndale, Calif., which is only 48 miles away from the earthquake’s epicenter.
Powerful earthquake, OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, Mar-10 05:18 UTC, http://t.co/McgfJzLcM3
— USGS Big Quakes (@USGSBigQuakes) March 10, 2014
More than a dozen aftershocks have been felt since Sunday night. Three thousand people reported the earthquake to the USGS website.
One California resident who lives in Rio Dell, 55 miles away from the earthquake’s focal point, told the Associated Press that the quake did not last very long.
“It was a big bump and then it rolled for about 30 seconds,” said 64-year-old Diana Harralson. “It was a real good shaker.”
Another witness shared with KTUV a similar experience.
Mike Meltzer of Ferndale said that the tremor lasted for about 10 seconds.
“I’ve been through a number of these,” said Meltzer, who was a woking bartender at the time of the event. “It wasn’t a jolter; it was a wave.”
One resident in Santa Monica tweeted to a friend that the sound of the earthquake confused her:
@brianrayguitar It was so loud,in Santa Monica, I wasn’t sure if it was an earthquake or a truck in the alley.
— susan sisko carter (@SiskoCarter) March 8, 2014
Sgt. Brian Stephens of the Eureka Police Department told the Los Angeles Times Monday morning that his experience was quite different. To him, the quake lasted almost 40 seconds and was “definitely a long one.”
“I thought someone was shoving my car back and forth, looked around and nobody was there. Then I realized what was happening,” he told the newspaper.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center confirmed Sunday night that there were no tsunami threats near the area.
Additionally, there have been no reports of injury or death.
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