6.2 magnitude quake shakes Northern California

Washington, Dec 20 (Prensa Latina) A 6.2 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Northern California rattled a wide swath of the state shortly after noon local time, according to data from the US Geological Survey (USGS).

December 20, 2021
21:49

The quake occurred just off Cape Mendocino near Humboldt County and was felt as far away as San Francisco and Chico, California.

“It was slow rolling at first, but then it really got going,” Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal told CNN. ¨We haven´t had a shake like this since 2010.¨

Humboldt County emergency responders are assessing damage but have had no word of injuries or catastrophic damage. Some minor damage to buildings, including broken glass, has been found, Honsal said.

Humboldt County is sparsely populated, with about 135,000 residents spread over about 4,000 square miles. The area is near the California/Oregon border, about 270 miles north of San Francisco.

The so-called Golden State (for its discovery of gold in 1848) is prone to earthquakes and according to geologists, a major earthquake along the San Andreas fault is likely to be “overdue.”

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