Natural Disasters

Dozens Of Earthquakes Rattle Northern California

Residents along the coast of a northern California town feared the quake would trigger a tsunami.

Dozens Of Earthquakes Rattle Northern California
U.S. Geological Survey
Article by Scott Withers
SMS
December 21, 2021

Northern California residents are cleaning up after dozens of earthquakes have shaken the region since Monday.  

A major quake struck 200-miles of the coast near the small town of Petrolia, north of San Francisco.

The shallow 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit along the strike-slip Mendocino fault, where three different tectonic plates - the pacific, North American and Juan de Fuco plates - converge.

The seismic waves shook everything inside one liquor store, knocking bottles to the ground.

Residents along the coast feared it would trigger a tsunami.

This type of earthquake doesn't normally create a tsunami, so there was no threat.

The big quake was felt more than 250 miles away, with most of the damage minor.

Some homeowners had their TVs and pictures knocked off the wall.

Experts don’t expect another major jolt anytime soon.

"Odds are we won't see anything as strong as the main earthquake," Alex Dodd, National Weather Service Meteorologist, said. 

Earthquakes are common along this fault.

In the last century, there have been at least 40 magnitude six earthquakes.