Photo: USGS/Supplied
A magnitude 7 earthquake has hit off the northern California coast, prompting a tsunami warning for a large stretch of the California and Oregon coasts, though it has since been lifted.
The tsunami warning was lifted about 9am, when the possible tsunami was predicted to arrive.
Some 4.7 million residents of California and Oregon were under the tsunami warning, the National Weather Service said.
The quake, which hit at a shallow depth of 10 km, was centred about 39 miles west of the town of Ferndale, a sparsely populated portion of the northern California coast, the US Geological Survey said.
The Zoo has closed due to national weather emergency and tsunami warning. Guests have been evacuated, animals secured and staff have moved to higher ground.
— San Francisco Zoo & Gardens (@sfzoo) December 5, 2024
The National Tsunami Centre issued a warning for a long stretch of the US West Coast, from Dunes City, Oregon, south to San Francisco and San Jose, California, 643 km away.
San Francisco and a large area of the surrounding Bay Area were under the tsunami warning.
The City of Berkeley police department issued an evacuation order for parts of the city on the San Francisco Bay “due to a Tsunami coming to West Berkeley,” according to an alert sent to residents.
About 19,000 clients were without power in Humboldt County – up from near zero before the earthquake struck, according to data from PowerOutage.us.
The office of California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote on social media that the governor “is now meeting with state emergency officials and working to ensure Californians are safe.”
– Reuters