Simple Breakdown of events:

On Thursday, December 5, 2024, a 7.0 Earthquake struck Northern California off the coast of the Pacific Ocean. 

This earthquake was very rare throughout the nation, but it was infrequent and unusual in California alone. In comparison to all the largest quakes in California recorded since 1906, this earthquake was the twelfth strongest earthquake recorded. 

This Earthquake on the North Coast not only destroyed many inhabitants of the areas affected, but due to the power of this earthquake in the Pacific, about 5 million people received tsunami warnings (released by the National Tsunami Warning Center), creating greater panic for these people as tsunamis are not a typical concern in terms of natural disasters. But this concern died quickly as the tsunami warning was taken down after about 70 minutes (according to foxweather.com). 

The scientific, more specific events of the Earthquake:

As with any other Earthquake, it happened as a result of a shift in the Earth’s tectonic plates moving in different directions. However, this specific earthquake seemed to have been moving in a horizontal pattern, which is the movement that can result in a tsunami, as explained by Stephen DeLong. 

Professionals also have predictions as to what will happen next post-earthquake. “While aftershocks are happening near the epicenter of the earthquake, it is unlikely there will be additional earthquakes of a seven magnitude,” (seismologist) Jeffery Park explained to CNN. This means that after the big earthquake in the North Coast area of California, there can be a series of minor earthquakes, explained as aftershocks to the main quake. 

Some of the Destruction because of this Earthquake and its effects on civilians:

After this earthquake, it can be said that the fire department was receiving calls left and right.

During this earthquake, the power had gone off in most areas, which resulted in further problems for civilians such as a case where one house told the fire department that as the power and gas came back they could hear “popping” and “crackling” as well as a “burning smell.” In response to these problems, Rio Dell Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Ryan Heussler stated, “I’m unsure what the issue is here. As a precaution, we’re shutting the power off and having PG&E come out.”

In this area, it was said that many shops had experienced issues such as floors cracking because of the earthquake, windows breaking, etc. But on the brighter side, it seemed apparent that for a 7.0 earthquake, the damage was not as bad as it could’ve been, it would not be too hard to fix and replace what was broken, and these said shops would be able to re-open pretty quickly. 

“We had a good day today. I’ll take a 7.0 earthquake like that any day of the week if the damage stays where it stayed today,” says Assistant Chief Heussler to asses the realistic minimal damage received from this shocking and unexpected earthquake.