At least two people died Tuesday in Northern California after a powerful earthquake off the US coast triggered landslides and knocked out power to tens of thousands of people.
The magnitude 6.4 quake struck overnight about 40 kilometers southwest of the Humboldt County port city of Eureka, according to the United States Survey of Geophysics (USGS).
In this area, located more than a four-hour drive from San Francisco, “two people died in medical emergencies that occurred during and/or just after the earthquake,” the county said in a statement, without further details. Eleven people were also injured, according to the county.
More than 74,000 businesses and homes without electricity
The quake also caused significant material damage and more than 74,000 homes and businesses remained without electricity at noon, according to the specialized site PowerOutage.
“Damage assessment is ongoing,” but the quake has already caused “significant damage” including to gas and water lines in the area, according to the local sheriff’s office.
The quake cracked a road leading to the small town of Fernbridge, according to photos posted on Twitter by Dania Romero, a reporter for local KAEF television.
Broken windows, falling rocks…
Various photos and videos on social media show smashed home windows, objects toppled by tremors, and supermarket shelves littered with products falling from the shelves.
Rockfalls and small landslides also occurred along a highway connecting Humboldt County to central California.
This state in the western United States is regularly shaken by earthquakes. According to seismologists, an earthquake capable of causing widespread destruction is almost certain to strike California in the next 30 years.
In 1994, a magnitude 6.7 earthquake in Northridge, northwest of Los Angeles, killed at least 60 people and caused an estimated $10 billion in damage. In 1989, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake in San Francisco claimed the lives of 67 people.
Source: BFM TV
