A 5.6 magnitude earthquake shook northern California, USA, marking the strongest tremor in this area since 1940, nearly 90 years ago.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported the earthquake's epicenter was about 12 kilometers from Willits in Mendocino County, at a depth of approximately 8 kilometers underground. The shaking was felt across multiple areas, including Fort Bragg along the Pacific coast.
Many residents described clearly feeling the tremors, with household and store items scattered, picture frames falling from walls, and glass bottles and dishes shaking violently.
Alan Harris from Kelseyville said he received an earthquake alert on his mobile phone shortly before the event. Then his entire house began shaking violently. He quickly called out to his wife and daughter, hearing objects crashing from the upper floor. It was a frightening moment. Although the shaking lasted only about 30 seconds, it caused pictures to fall from walls and a computer monitor to topple, but no structural damage to the house was found.
Lucie Jones, a California earthquake expert, noted that this area is not located on a major fault line and typically experiences only minor earthquakes. This makes the recent event the largest quake in the region in nearly nine decades.
Following the main quake, at least three aftershocks measuring no more than 2.7 magnitude occurred near the epicenter within less than an hour.
The California Governor's Office of Emergency Services revealed that the MyShake app sent nearly 657,000 early earthquake warnings to users across northern California.
So far, there have been no reports of deaths, injuries, or serious damage from the event. Authorities are actively assessing the impact and closely monitoring the situation amid concerns about potential additional aftershocks in the coming period.
. Source:AP
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