Injuries reported in magnitude 5.6 NorCal quake

LATEST June 24, 12:55 p.m.Authorities reported that there is no major damage after a powerful earthquake rattled Northern California on Wednesday morning. 

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According to a news release from Mendocino County, some injuries were reported but no deaths as a result of the 5.6 magnitude quake. The office did not respond to SFGATE’s request for more information about the number of injuries. 

Though officials didn’t report any damage to major public infrastructure, such as hospitals or water systems, some nearby residents reported damage in their homes. A photo from a Willits resident sent to KGO-TV show plates, cans and other kitchen items scattered across the floor, many of them shattered.

Power outages were reported in Laytonville, Willits, Leggett and Round Valley/Covelo, which are all near the quake’s epicenter. According to PG&E, there are 7,427 customers in Mendocino County without power, according to the utility’s outage map as of 12:02 p.m. Most of the outages, 4,868 customers, are in the unincorporated part of the county, and the remaining 2,559 outages are in Willits. A video shared with KGO also shows a grocery store in Lake County with dozens of items spilled on the floors. A similar scene was also documented at a gas station in Willits, KRON-TV reported, with shattered liquor bottles on the floor. 

County officials are urging the public to avoid major roadways as Caltrans, PG&E and county workers continue to assess the damage and repairs. 

Lucy Jones, a former seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, told KCRA-TV that Wednesday’s shake was the largest earthquake in almost nine decades for the region. 

June 24, 8:43 a.m. A strong quake measuring a preliminary 5.6 magnitude struck just north of Ukiah in Mendocino County shortly after 8 a.m. on Wednesday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. 

The temblor was reported at 8:10 a.m. with the epicenter located 11 kilometers north of Redwood Valley near the Mendocino National Forest and at a depth of about 8.1 kilometers. It was followed by a small magnitude 2.5 aftershock about seven minutes later. 

The strong temblor set off the MyShake alert system, with people more than a hundred miles away in San Jose getting the blaring notification. Two more aftershocks measuring a magnitude 2.7 and 2.6 were reported about two hours after the initial rupture.

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According to the USGS, thousands of people reported feeling the tremor. Reports came from hundreds of miles from the epicenter in areas like Sacramento, San Jose, and even Carson City, Nevada. The USGS estimates about 7,000 people may have felt “very strong” shaking and another 10,000 people may have felt “strong” shaking.

USGS seismologist Sarah Minson said the quake likely erupted along the Maacama fault in Mendocino County, which is linked to the Hayward and Calaveras faults found in the Bay Area.

“It’s kind of the northward extension of them,” she explained.

Despite the strength of the quake, the USGS reports that there is currently “little to no risk” of landslides or ground liquefaction in the area. Minson explained the quake likely ruptured about a mile of the fault line.

“It’s about the smallest earthquake that you would expect to be impactful,” Minson said.

The risk of a forthcoming larger quake remains small, with the USGS predicting a less than 1% chance for a greater than magnitude 6.0 or 7.0 in the area for the next week.There is a higher risk for moderate quakes, with the USGS forecasting a 7% risk of a magnitude 5.0 quake, a 40% risk of a magnitude 4.0 quake, and an 89% chance of a magnitude 3.0 tremor for the area through the next week.

Minson said the risk of another large quake dissipates exponentially.

“Every second that we’re talking and nothing happens, it’s great,” she said. “But then if something does happen, it’s going to take the probabilities up again.”

This breaking news story has been updated.