California hit by magnitude 7 earthquake, San Francisco is under a tsunami warning

December 5, 2024 -SAN FRANCISCO, AL ‒ USA Today is reporting that a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck near the town of Petrolia in California.

Southern Oregon to San Francisco is under a tsunami warning.

The quake occurred near California's sparsely populated northern coast. The quake struck on the San Andreas fault, which runs along the coast line. The quake was felt by people across Humbolt County, CA.

"Move out of the water, off the beach, and away from harbors, marinas, breakwaters, bays and inlets," the National Tsunami Warning Center advised. "Repeated coastal flooding is possible as waves arrive onshore, move inland, and drain back into the ocean."

Magnitude is a measurement of the strength of an earthquake. Officially it's called the moment magnitude scale. It's a logarithmic scale, meaning each number is 10 times as strong as the one before it. So a 5.0 earthquake is ten times stronger than a 4.0. A 6.0 is ten times bigger than a 5.0 and a 7.0 is ten time stronger than a 6.0.

The Alabama Gazette staff and publishers are praying for the people of California and southern Oregon that the Tsunami does not happen.

****UPDATE - the National Weather Service has cancelled their Tsunami warning. There is no danger from any sort of a tidal wave. Authorities are assessing the damage from the earthquake.