Tsunami warning cancelled after quake off northern California coast, no threat to B.C.

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit off a sparsely populated stretch of northern California coast on Thursday, prompting coastal towns to evacuate low-lying areas amid a tsunami warning that was later cancelled.

Emergency Info B.C. says there is “no tsunami threat to B.C.” 

No deaths or injuries were reported. There were no reports of major damage, though authorities said they needed time to check across the impacted area.

The U.S. National Weather Service said that the tsunami warning that extended along 800 kilometres of the California and Oregon coasts was called off about 90 minutes after the earthquake struck at 10:44 a.m. PT (1:44 p.m. ET).

Quake leaves mess, but no reports of injuries

The quake, which hit at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres, was centred about 63 kilometres west of the town of Ferndale, Calif., a sparsely populated portion of the state’s northern coast, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

In Ferndale, a town of about 1,400 people, residents and business owners were cleaning up broken crockery and merchandise after the quake struck.

“It was a big quake, it made you evacuate the building as fast as you could,” said Troy Land, a member of Ferndale’s Volunteer Fire Department, who also owns a hardware store and said lumber and cans of paint went tumbling across the shop’s floor.

WATCH | Aftershocks likely to be smaller, seismologist says: 

Smaller aftershocks expected after magnitude 7.0 quake off northern California coast

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit off a sparsely populated stretch of northern California coast on Thursday, prompting a tsunami warning that was later cancelled. Seismologist Maureen Long says it’s unlikely any aftershocks in the coming days will be stronger than the initial shock.

“It was a strong quake, our building shook, we’re fine but I have a mess to clean up right now,” said a still shaken Julie Kreitzer, owner of Golden Gait Mercantile, a store packed with food, wares and souvenirs that is a popular attraction in Ferndale.

Just north of Ferndale in Eureka, a coastal community in Humboldt County, fire department official Talia Flores said there were no injuries or major structural damage reported, though some stores lost merchandise off the shelves.

Some 4.7 million residents of California and Oregon had been under the tsunami warning before it was cancelled, the weather service said.

WATCH | Waiting for ‘The Big One’ in B.C.: 

When ‘The Big One’ hits, what happens under Vancouver?

We’ve all been told to prepare for “The Big One” — a massive earthquake that is forecast to bring destruction to the Lower Mainland. While the damage will be severe, not every part of the region will be hit the same way. Darius Mahdavi went out with some researchers who are creating detailed mapping that outlines the risk at a more granular level.

The City of Berkeley police department had issued an evacuation order for parts of the city on the San Francisco Bay, but later sent an alert to residents saying that “no tsunami danger presently exists.”

In northern California, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office downgraded its evacuation warning for a tsunami to “situational awareness” in low lying areas.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he was concerned about damage in northern California, and that he had signed a state of emergency declaration that would facilitate assistance for the impacted areas.