The earthquake occurred around 2:34 a.m. on Tuesday with the epicenter reported to be just offshore of Humboldt County in California.
Besides Eureka, the towns of Ferndale and Fortuna are nearby, based on the epicenter reported by the U.S. Geological Survey. The popular Humboldt Redwoods State Park is also in the vicinity.
Over 70,000 customers are without power as of 5:45 a.m.,” the Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services stated on its Facebook page.
At least 13 aftershocks were reported by the U.S. Geological Survey within 45 minutes after the initial 6.4 quake. The aftershocks were primarily inland east of the original temblor.
The ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System — which is co-operated by the USGS and covers the West Coast, buzzed smartphones and woke up thousands of Bay Area residents to notify them of the earthquake. The local alert also warned that they might feel some shaking although that did not appear to have materialized.
A swarm of aftershocks that included a 4.6 magnitude shaker in the town of Rio Dell several miles inland from the coast also rumbled through Humboldt County Tuesday morning.