Magnitude 7 earthquake hits California, prompting tsunami threat

A powerful earthquake struck 50 kilometers off the coast of California on the morning of December 5. Emergency tsunami warnings were sent to half a million mobile phones. In stores and homes closest to the epicenter, food fell from shelves to the floor, writes New York Times.

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Fortunately, despite the quake's intensity (magnitude 7,0, according to the U.S. Geological Survey), the aftershocks caused little damage because the epicenter was in the Pacific Ocean, 300 kilometers north of San Francisco Bay. Tsunami warnings were canceled about an hour later.

In Petrolia, southeast of the quake's epicenter, 73-year-old Margit Cook, a clerk at the Petrolia General Store, said it was one of the biggest quakes in the 53 years she has lived in the remote Northern California community.

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"Things started moving. Slowly at first, then faster and faster, and finally we felt a big jolt," she said. "I just stood there and watched my refrigerator move around the kitchen."

Overnight, more than 10 customers in Humboldt County lost power, according to poweroutage.us. The initial quake was followed by more than a dozen aftershocks, mostly off the coast of Northern California.

It has been more than three decades since California experienced a catastrophic earthquake. A period of seismic quiet, scientists say, is bound to be broken by what Californians are cautiously calling "The Big One."

The last major destructive earthquake in Northern California was in 1989, with a magnitude of 6,9. It killed 63 people and injured more than 3700. In Southern California, the 1994 Northridge earthquake in Los Angeles killed 60 people, injured about 7000, and damaged more than 40 buildings.

The Dec. 5 quake struck at 10:44 a.m. Pacific time in an area seismologists call the Mendocino Triple Junction, a tectonic point where three major plates meet. The interaction of those plates produces a lot of underground storms, said Lucy Jones, a former director of disaster research at the U.S. Geological Survey.

Tremors of that magnitude would be devastating to faults that run beneath densely populated areas of California, such as the Hayward Fault (which runs through Berkeley, Oakland and other cities east of San Francisco).

The tectonic rupture that caused the Dec. 5 quake was nearly horizontal, meaning two faults slid past each other. Scientists call this type of quake a "slam," and it's unlikely to produce a tsunami. That has raised questions about why warnings were issued telling residents they were "in danger" and should move to higher ground.

Christine Goulet, director of the U.S. Geological Survey's Earthquake Research Center, said the area where the quake struck was unpredictable.

Although she was not involved in the tsunami warnings, Dr. Goulet said she understood why they were done.

"We all have a goal to save lives - and you want to warn people just in case so they can take protective measures," she explained.

In areas closest to the epicenter, residents said the quake felt like a rough ride in an elevator.

"You could hear it as well as feel it," said Sue Nichols, assistant principal at Eureka Elementary School, about 50 miles northeast of the epicenter.

Nichols was at home enjoying a day off when the earthquake hit, crawling under the living room table and doing "what I've taught kids for years — duck, cover, and hold on."

She saw the house shaking and her chandelier swinging from side to side. When the shaking and rumbling stopped, Sue headed to her school.

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When she got to campus, students were evacuated to a field outside the classrooms.

"They were scared," Nichols said. "But we trained with them, and it paid off. The kids knew what to do."

Classes resumed by lunchtime.

"It looks like there's no damage," Nichols said. "My day off is ruined, though."

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