A tsunami warning issued Thursday morning by the National Weather Service for coastal areas of Northern California and Oregon was canceled a little over an hour after being prompted by an estimated 7.0-magnitude earthquake that was reported off the coast of Humboldt County.
The 7.0 quake at 10:44 a.m. off of Cape Mendocino was followed by a series of aftershocks in the area, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Shaking from the big quake could be felt in many parts of the Bay Area, though no major damage has been reported in the region.
The tsunami warning issued by the weather service buzzed the smartphones of many residents and was in effect from the area of Davenport in Santa Cruz County up into Oregon. It was canceled as of shortly before noon but led people in many Northern California coastal communities to leave for higher elevations.
“I was upstairs, heard my phone go off with a quake alert, and the shaking started less than two seconds later, which is noteworthy,” said Dan Potash, who lives in a house by the bluff in the town of Mendocino. “The biggest concern was it getting worse and longer. I spent the better part of the next half-hour staring at the horizon to see if I could see any change in the water, but all seemed calm.”
Heading for higher ground
Neighbors jumped in their car and drove to higher ground and gathered up pets so they were ready to go, he said.
In San Mateo County, the California Highway Patrol closed westbound state Highway 92 from Interstate Highway 280 to stop people from going to the coastal Half Moon Bay region, while eastbound Highway 92 was backed up with traffic trying to flee the area.
BART announced shortly after 11 a.m. That Transbay Tube service was shut down as a result of the quake and tsunami warning, but said in an update at about 11:45 a.m. That service was resuming, though with major delays.
The San Francisco Zoo announced that guests were evacuated and animals and staff were moving to higher ground and the Exploratorium along the San Francisco waterfront was among other businesses and attractions in the region that shut down as a result of the warning.
The San Francisco Fire Department said on social media shortly after noon that “residents who followed tsunami evacuation routes or sought high ground can begin to return to their homes using caution.”
Shortly after the initial quake struck, the Berkeley Police Department took a proactive approach in issuing an evacuation order due to the tsunami potentially “coming to West Berkeley” per a Nixle alert.
In Marin County, the Sheriff’s Office reminded residents to avoid calling 911 for updates on the tsunami and instead follow tsunami.gov for updates on conditions.
“Please keep the lines available for emergencies only,” wrote the Sheriff’s Office in a public Facebook post.
Governor issues disaster proclamation
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday proclaimed a state of emergency in Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte counties to support the emergency response.
The governor’s office said Newsom was briefed on the earthquake by state emergency officials.
The proclamation authorizes state agencies to enter into contracts to quickly assist any emergency response in the counties and allows fairgrounds and state property to be used for sheltering, among other actions, according to Newsom’s office.
“Today’s emergency proclamation will allow more resources to go where they are needed for emergency response to this morning’s earthquake. I am grateful for the robust system our state has in place that worked as intended today and kept people safe and informed,” the governor said in a statement.
