California earthquake live: Tsunami threat passes for 5 million people after quake hits California coast
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Northern California was rocked by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake late Thursday morning.
After the tremor struck, just over 60 miles to the west-southwest of Humboldt County’s Ferndale, a tsunami warning was issued for a wide swath of the West Coast. The warning extended from Oregon through central California and at least 5.3 million people in California were affected.
The warnings were canceled by the National Weather Service minutes later.
The agency estimated than more than 1.3 million people lived close enough to the quake to feel its impact.
There were no immediate reports of major damage, but the U.S. Geological Survey issued a yellow alert, which predicts localized but minimal damage.
Social media users took to the social media platform X to report the shaking.
In San Francisco, the Bay Area Rapid Transit District, known as BART, stopped traffic in all directions through the underwater tunnel connecting the city and the East Bay.
The San Francisco Zoo’s visitors were evacuated, its animals were secured, and staff members were moved to higher ground.
Mayor London Breed told residents that the city had activated its Emergency Operations Center in response to the tsunami warning. She advised people to move off the coast and at least one block inland.
With reporting from The Associated Press
‘An uneasy feeling’: Coastal earthquake rattles San Francisco as tsunami warning in effect
An large earthquake off the Northern California coast on Thursday morning could be felt hundreds of miles away in the San Francisco Bay area, setting nerves on edge.
“First time ever felt an earthquake in [the South of Market neighborhood] San Francisco,” venture capitalist Jesse Heikkilä wrote on X. “Not one where you scream and run, but it definitely is an uneasy feeling.”
Christopher Sherry, of the nearby Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, said he also felt the quake, and posted a video on social media of his shutters swaying in his office.
The quake, and an accompanying tsunami warning, put the city on high alert.
Mayor London Breed announced on Thursday she was activating the city’s emergency operations center and sending public safety staff to warn residents to get inland.
Bay Area Rapid Transit, meanwhile, announced it stopped metro service on the Transbay Tube connnecting San Francisco and Oakland.
The San Francisco Zoo has closed and evacuated guests, as well as securing animals and staff.
Josh Marcus5 December 2024 20:05
There is no longer a tsunami threat, NWS says
The National Weather Service said that there is no longer a tsunami threat from the earthquake.
The agency recommended affected residents remain observant and “exercise normal caution near the sea.”
“Otherwise, no action is required.”
Julia Musto5 December 2024 20:03
What California earthquake felt like on the ground in San Francisco
At first, I wasn’t even sure it was an earthquake. Maybe it was just a truck rumbling by my San Francisco apartment. Maybe I just hadn’t had my coffee.
Then a tsunami warning came blaring out of my phone, confirming that the barely perceptible tremor I felt really was the real thing, and a serious risk at that.
A magnitude 7 earthquake had struck at a depth of 8 miles, 45 miles southwest of Eureka, a coastal city about 270 miles north of the Bay Area.
The quake itself may have passed, but forcasters suggest the waves it might generate could hit the coast within the next half hour, and advise getting to high ground.
Josh Marcus5 December 2024 19:49
