A magnitude 7.0 earthquake occurred off the coast of northern California, according to the United States Geological Survey.
A tsunami warning was initially issued along the northern California and southern Oregon coasts after the earthquake, but was later canceled.
The earthquake’s epicenter was near the town of Ferndale, California, a small city in Humboldt County.
It’s unclear how widespread the damage was, but one Ferndale resident who spoke to the BBC in the minutes after the quake said the inside of the building where she was staying “looked like a bomb had gone off everywhere.” room”.
Olivia Cobian, innkeeper at the Gingerbread Mansion Inn in Ferndale, said the inside of the inn now “looks like a battlefield.”
“We had huge cast iron fireplaces that had been lifted up and moved, everything was falling over, breaking.”
Multiple aftershocks have been reported since the first quake occurred around 2:00 p.m. ET (9:00 p.m. GMT).
Kayla Aihara was staying at a hotel in Half Moon Bay, California and received constant warnings about a possible earthquake and tsunami.
Before the tsunami warning was cancelled, staff at the hotel asked her to leave the gym and go to higher ground for fear of the effects of the tsunami.
Some people fled and she said many gathered near the beach at the Pacific Coast Hotel, watching the waves and waiting for any signs of a tsunami.
California Governor Gavin Newsom was briefed about the earthquake and is meeting with state emergency officials to help coordinate the response.
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services said it did not immediately receive any reports showing widespread damage.
Typically, after an earthquake, first responders in the area will survey buildings and roads to look for any damage and check structural integrity.
The West Coast of the United States is where several of Earth’s tectonic plates meet, and tremors are not uncommon.
The area has suffered many major earthquakes, including the 1994 earthquake that struck Northridge, in the Los Angeles area, killing dozens of people and injuring thousands more, as it caused thousands of damages. billion dollars for housing and infrastructure.
