A strong 6.8 magnitude quake has struck of the coast of California, some 165km west of Ferndale, CA. The quake was not near the San Andreas fault however according to USGS data, it took place on top of the Gorda Estrapment divide.
JUST IN: 6.8-magnitude earthquake strikes off the coast of Ferndale, California, USGS says. pic.twitter.com/zt7mIfD9Ve
— ABC News (@ABC) December 8, 2016
There are no reports of damages, injuries or Tsunamis as of this moment. A police dispatcher told NBC Bay Area that they barely felt it onland. And the National Weather Service tweeted that a tsunami was not expected for California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska.
In Ferndale, which has a population of about 1,300 people, Mayor Don Hindley said in a phone interview that he had not heard of any damage from the quake. He said he felt the temblor for about 15 seconds according to Reuters."It wasn’t that bad at all," Hindley said. In the San Francisco Bay area, about 250 miles (402 km) south of Ferndale, the Bay Area Rapid Transit agency said on Twitter it was running its system with a 10-minute delay and with trains traveling at reduced speeds due to the quake. The move was a standard precaution by BART.
The quake was first reported with a 6.9 magnitude but downgraded to 6.5.
Some social media users said they felt the tremor in San Francisco, about 260 miles (418.43 km) south. "That was a big one," wrote Twitter user Antonis Papatsaras from the Bay Area city.
"Felt 20 seconds of very light shaking," tweeted another San Francisco resident, Lila LaHodd.