Magnitude 6.4 quake shakes northern California, leaves 2 dead, thousands without power

 

A powerful magnitude 6.4 earthquake jolted the extreme northern coast of California before dawn on Tuesday, crumpling homes and roads, rupturing utility lines and leaving thousands of residents without running water and electricity.

At least a dozen people were injured, and two others died from “medical emergencies” that occurred during or just after the quake, according to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office.

Tuesday’s temblor set off one structure fire - by severing the gas line of a hot-water heater - and caused at least two other buildings to collapse, authorities said.
Water service to the entire community was knocked out, and City Manager Kyle Knopp said he expected 100 to 150 residents would likely end up displaced once housing inspectors had assessed all the structural damage there.

Some 79,000 homes and businesses countywide were without power in the quake’s immediate aftermath, according to the electric grid tracking website PowerOutage.us.