Tsunami warnings cancelled after 7.0 earthquake hits California

Dennis Mersereau

December 5, 2024 at 4:26 p.m.·2 min read

Experts with the U.S. Tsunami Warning Center have cancelled tsunami warnings that were issued for coastal California and Oregon on Thursday afternoon after a a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck offshore near Eureka, California.

The earthquake struck at 10:44 a.m. PST on Thursday. The location and orientation of the quake prompted immediate concern that a tsunami may have been generated. Thankfully, that appears not to have been the case. Additionally, there are currently no tsunami alerts in effect for Canada's West Coast.

California Earthquake Tsunami December 5 2024

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported at least 18 aftershocks ranging from magnitude 2.7 to magnitude 4.3 in the hours following the initial earthquake. The number of aftershocks will likely rise into the hundreds in the coming days and weeks. The USGS reports there's a 34 percent chance of a magnitude 5.0+ aftershock within the next week.

Scattered reports of damage filtered in from the affected areas in northern California on Thursday afternoon.

Outage tracking website PowerOutage.US reported about 10,000 customers without electricity in Humboldt County, home of the city of Eureka and nearest to the epicentre, in the first hour after the quake.

Stay with The Weather Network for more information on this breaking news event.

See some of the damage and aftermath of the earthquake showing up on social media, below.

Major #earthquake in California. This is in our backyard in Davis, CA. Wet concrete shows how pool waves soaked decking. In vid water in pool still moving! pic.twitter.com/XzcT2lhE5U
— Tim Csontos (@timcsontos) December 5, 2024

Got some shaking at Nugget Markets in Davis ca. #earthquake #california #eureka pic.twitter.com/KKbVPwdEw0
— Tom Nolan (@tommylikecloud) December 5, 2024

Since when is our pool a wave pool omg this is crazy. It’s still rolling 10 min later there’s apparently a 6.0 near the coast 😬 #earthquake #california pic.twitter.com/4jXnbgq468
— Sultana🏴‍☠🍋 (@anatlus89) December 5, 2024

Definitely felt that #earthquake here in California. Felt like I was hammered I was swaying so bad, and it shook a bunch of the water out of our pool!#california #cali #530 #earthquakes pic.twitter.com/DuKRxTRFBF
— NorthWindAerial (@NorthWindAerial) December 5, 2024

WATCH: Earthquake in California turns pools into wave pools

Click here to view the video

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WATCH: Earthquake in California turns pools into wave pools

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