California’s North Coast is renowned for its pristine, spectacular beauty. Less known is its vulnerability to earthquakes. The most seismically active stretch of the state, scientists say, lies in Humboldt County, where three tectonic plates meet.
California’s North Coast is renowned for its pristine, spectacular beauty. Less known is its vulnerability to earthquakes.
The most seismically active stretch of the state, scientists say, lies around Cape Mendocino in Humboldt County, where the westernmost tip of the Pacific coastline curves out into the ocean. There, under roiling blue waves, three tectonic plates meet, grinding and heaving. The Mendocino Triple Junction, as the configuration is known, generates an average of 80 earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater each year.On Tuesday, shortly after 2:30 a.m.
At least two deaths were attributed to the quake — two people, ages 72 and 83, suffered medical crises and died before emergency workers could reach them, according to William Honsal, the sheriff of Humboldt County. At least 12 other people were injured. Tens of thousands of utility customers lost power. Fernbridge, a bridge that serves as the most direct route between Ferndale and U.S.
Even where damage was minor, the quake zone was a mess of toppled Christmas trees, shattered storefronts and traumatized animals and children. Rachael Sovereign, 40, said her 10-year-old son was asking to open his Christmas gifts early; the quake had toppled their chimney in Rio Dell, leaving Santa with nowhere to come in.
Some 250 miles to the south at the University of California, Berkeley Seismology Lab, however, the quake brought with it a bit of good news: California’s MyShake early warning earthquake app, a statewide alert that the lab helped develop, issued its largest heads-up since the state debuted it in 2019.I spoke Tuesday to Richard Allen, the lab’s director. Here’s some of our conversation, condensed and edited.
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