5.6 earthquake causes some injuries, no damage in northern California

A rural area of northern California experienced its strongest earthquake since 1940 on Wednesday, causing some injuries but no immediate reports of major damage.

The epicenter of the quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 5.6, was about 7 miles northwest of the agricultural town of Willits, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The area in Mendocino County dotted with small, agricultural towns is 140 miles northeast of San Francisco.

Heather Rose, a Mendocino County spokesperson, said that hospitals had reported some injuries but that she had no details on their nature or extent. She said officials plan to meet later Wednesday when more information could be released.

Power outages affected more than 6,000 residents of six towns near the epicenter, the Mendocino County Executive Office said in a statement. The office encouraged people to stay off the highways and roads to allow work crews to inspect for damage and make repairs.

This was the biggest earthquake in nearly nine decades in the region, which is not on a major fault, said Lucy Jones, a veteran California seismologist.

Three other quakes under a 2.7 magnitude struck near the epicenter within an hour.

It lasted only about 30 seconds. Nearly 657,000 earthquake early warning alerts were sent by the MyShake phone app throughout northern California. Cal OES had not received any reports of damage or injuries, but it was coordinating with authorities to evaluate impacts, the office said in a statement.


(Photo Kent Porter/The Press Democrat via AP)