Things went bump in the night for a bunch of residents across Northern California over the weekend.
Reports indicate that an earthquake hit the area at around 10:18 pm on Sunday. It is said to have originated in the Pacific Ocean, approximately 50 miles west of Eureka, California.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimated the depth of the quake as about 4 miles. At present, there are no presumed tsunami threats to the region.
There have been at least thirteen reported aftershocks, the largest clocking in at a magnitude of 4.6.
“My car was rocking back and forth,” said Eureka Police Department Sgt. Brian Stephens. “I thought someone was shoving my car back and forth, looked around and nobody was there. Then I realized what was happening.”
Despite the startling incident, the police sergeant was just fine. He also shared that there have been no serious injuries as a result of the quake and damage is minuscule. The same was said by Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department. The powerful quake seemed to have taken place at such a location that it spared California residents any major consequences
More details- 6.9 earthquake off the coast in California! Oh my word!! Did you feel it? pic.twitter.com/SKmQyxVN4y
— Sandi Krakowski (@sandikrakowski) March 10, 2014
Raquel Maytorena of Ferndale, Calif. describes it as almost a gentle, non-threatening experience. The 52-year-old commented, “It just kept going and going, very slowly and softly. It was not violent. It almost felt like you were in a boat that was rocking.”
She added that it lasted longer than any other earthquake she’d ever experienced in her life.
What’s incredible is that for a formidable quake that lasted as long as it did, it caused no real harm. Less powerful quakes have done more damage.
For instance, the Morgan Hill earthquake that occurred roughly twenty years ago had a magnitude of about 6.2 and resulted in millions of dollars in damages.
Had such a earthquake been centered in another region, things could have been much worse. Northern Californians may have been momentarily inconvenienced, but they’ll have to count themselves extremely fortunate.
Image via YouTube