Money Matters, Simplified.
6.5 magnitude earthquake rocks California coast
by Ishita Sood - January 10, 2010 - comments
An earthquake of magnitude 6.5 rocked Humboldt County near Eureka, the home to the famous Victorian Carson Mansion
Eureka, CA, January 10 -- An earthquake measuring 6.5 magnitude hit Humboldt County near Eureka, at 4:30 p.m. (local time) Saturday, shaking up the whole city and leaving it powerless.
Humboldt County, 200 miles off San Francisco, has a population of 126,518. The two largest population centers of the county are Eureka and Arcata.
According to the National Weather Service, the quake was centered about 25 miles southwest of Eureka and struck for about 30 seconds. Even though no injuries or damages were reported, the quake left many panic-stricken and scared.
“Saturday's temblor felt like a monstrous one. I’ve been through a lot of these and usually they’re sharp but this one was very wiggly; it was rolling in all directions,” said Phil Burns, owner of Mity Nice Bakery Cafe Restaurant in Eureka.
Panic stricken people
After the quake, several of the people gathered out in the streets and yelled, “You all right?” in the direction of other people’s houses.
William Bowman, 60, was at home when the quake hit. He said, “I hit the floor. It was a long one. I thought the house was coming down.”
Paul Knaak, 77, who owns a two-story house on Summer Street in Eureka, said it was the biggest quake he had experienced in his whole life.
Several people complained of broken windows in their homes and shops. Mike Hagedorn, a bakery manager at Winco, said “Everything was off the shelves. It was booming ... . You can imagine our liquor section right now.”
Damages to power lines and equipments
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed that there was no threat of a tsunami from Saturday’s quake. There were also no immediate damages reported to bridges or highways in and around Eureka.
“Right now it's very preliminary but there does not seem to be any damage that is overly significant. We've got some minor glass breakage, some gas mains affected and some power lines down,” said California Highway Patrol Capt. Dale Cannon.
However, damages for power lines and equipments were reported which left approximately 25,000 customers powerless.
Five aftershocks followed the quake
The last major earthquake in the area was recorded on April 25, 1992. The quake, of 7.2 magnitude, occurred in the same area of California.
Saturday’s quake recorded several aftershocks, five of them followed 90 minutes after the quake; the biggest being of magnitude 3.8.