A 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of northern California, according to the US Geological Survey.
A tsunami warning was initially issued along the coast of northern California and southern Oregon – an area of ​​about 4.7 million people – but has since been withdrawn.
The epicenter of the earthquake came near the city of Ferndale, California, a small town in Humboldt County about 260 miles (418km) north of San Francisco.
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services said they had not immediately received reports of widespread damage.
Typically, after an earthquake first responders in the area will inspect buildings and roads for any damage and to assess the integrity of the structure.
Although the earthquake did not appear to cause major damage, a resident of Ferndale who spoke to the BBC in the minutes after the quake said that the interior of the building he was in “looked like a bomb had exploded in every room”.
Olivia Cobian, innkeeper at the Gingerbread Mansion Inn in Ferndale, said the interior of the inn now “looks like a warzone”.
“We have large metal fireplaces that have been lifted and moved, everything has fallen, broken”.
More than 10,000 people are without power in Humboldt County since the earthquake struck, according to poweroutage.us.
Several aftershocks have also been reported since the first earthquake, which struck at around 10:44 local time (18:44 GMT).
Some places, including the city of Berkeley in northern California, issued an evacuation order due to the threat of a possible tsunami.
“GET OUT NOW,” warned an X-post from the city. “The people in the Tsunami Zone are in REAR DANGER AND MUST BREAK NOW. Stay east of 7th St. This is a formal order to leave now.”
Kayla Aihara was staying at a hotel in Half Moon Bay, California and received successive warnings about an earthquake and a possible tsunami.
Before the tsunami warning was cancelled, the hotel staff had told him to leave the gym and go to higher ground for fear of the tsunami’s impact.
Others went outside and said many people were gathered near the Pacific Coast Hotel, watching the waves and waiting for any signs of a tsunami.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has been notified of the earthquake and has been meeting with state emergency officials to help coordinate the response.
The US West Coast is the confluence of a number of Earth tectonic plates, and earthquakes are not uncommon. But earthquakes with a magnitude of 7 are not usually experienced in the region. Experts say between 10 and 15 such earthquakes strike the world each year.
The area has been hit by several major earthquakes, including the 1994 earthquake that struck Northridge, in the Los Angeles area, killing scores of people and injuring thousands more, as it caused billions of dollars in damage to homes and infrastructure.
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