Tsunami warnings are in effect across portions of the California and Oregon coasts on Thursday afternoon after a preliminary magnitude 7.0 offshore earthquake struck near Eureka, California.
The earthquake struck at 10:44 a.m. PST on Thursday. If the earthquake generated a tsunami, the first waves could potentially reach San Francisco, California, by 12:10 p.m. PST on Thursday.
California Earthquake Tsunami December 5 2024
“If you are located in this coastal area, move inland to higher ground,” the U.S. Tsunami Warning Center said on Thursday.
The agency added: “Tsunami warnings mean that a tsunami with significant inundation is possible or is already occurring. Tsunamis are a series of waves dangerous many hours after initial arrival time. The first wave may not be the largest.”
There are currently no tsunami alerts in effect for Canada’s West Coast.
Scattered reports of damage filtered in from the affected areas in northern California on Thursday afternoon. Outage tracking website PowerOutage.US reported about 10,000 customers without electricity in Humboldt County, home of the city of Eureka and nearest to the epicentre, in the first hour after the quake.
Stay with The Weather Network for more information on this breaking news event.
See some of the damage and aftermath of the earthquake showing up on social media, below.
