California: Magnitude 6.4 earthquake hits Northern California coast

A magnitude 6.4 earthquake rattled Northern California early Tuesday morning, causing some damage and leaving thousands without power in Humboldt County. The quake was reported at 2:34 a.m. Tuesday 11 miles from Fortuna, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

On social media, some reported that the quake caused furniture to move and items to fall to the floor. “That was a big one. Power is now out in #ferndaleca. House is a mess,” Ferndale resident Caroline Titus wrote on Twitter, showing broken items in her home. There was no immediate word on injuries. No tsunami was expected.

According to PowerOutage.us, more than 70,000 people across Humboldt County were without power early Tuesday. Pacific Gas & Electric tweeted that it “initiated its emergency response plan, and crews are responding to gas and electric hazards.”

Scanner traffic indicated that authorities were also dealing with gas leaks and some reports of structural damage. “Power is out across the county,” the Humboldt County Sheriff’s office said on Twitter, urging residents to avoid calling 911 unless there was an emergency.

Some residents reported receiving an electronic quake alert on their phone before strong shaking began. “That earthquake was insane ... a good 15-20 seconds of shaking,” one resident said on Twitter.

The quake struck along the coast south of Eureka in a seismically active part of California. It was felt across the North Coast region.

Exactly a year ago, the same area was hit by a magnitude 6.2 quake that shattered windows and caused some damage.

The USGS said the Tuesday earthquake occurred 17 miles from Eureka, 24 miles from Arcata and 30 miles from McKinleyville. It was followed by numerous aftershocks.

In the last 10 days, there have been no earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby.

An average of five earthquakes with magnitudes between 6.0 and 7.0 occur per year in California and Nevada, according to a recent three-year data sample.