This 6.4 near Ferndale and Eureka, California left 10s of thousands of people without power. It also broke a lot of glass in Fortuna, California and scattered food all across a whole supermarket and other damage there. Broken glass if you are in your home means you need to put on slippers or shoes before you walk around. This was the biggest problem I ran into in the 1971 San Fernando Earthquake was trying not to get my feet cut on broken glass from dishes and glasses and picture glass broken on the floor trying to get to where my shoes were for safety.
it's 71,000 people presently without power in that area near Eureka.
It all depends where the epicenter is and if it is near houses or businesses it can get quite serious.
For example, I have been in 4.0 earthquakes and even in a 4.0 your chandeliers will rock often. Then a 5.0 in Orange County 21 years ago my then 5 years old daughter was in the pool on a floating inflatable in the middle of the pool. So, when it hit I was terrified for my daughter's well being. I got up and ran towards the pool to tell her what to do to survive this without being knocked out or worse.
She asked me why the water was sloshing out of the pool because about 1 foot of water was scattering out of the pool all over the backyard there. I told her to keep swimming towards the center so she would be safe. So, she did what I said and came through it okay.
So, even a 5.0 can be serious if you are in a pool or driving a car. Many accidents can occur even in a 5.0 earthquake when people are driving when it happens and even a 5 can put deep cracks in a paved road especially if it is concrete. Asphalt gives more but concrete just cracks and breaks and doesn't give at all when the ground bends and contorts like it does in an earthquake.
The most terrifying earthquake I was in was in 1971 in February in California called the San Fernando 1971 Earthquake. This one I was asleep and it hit and it woke me up and it was still dark (around 6 am) I believe and so I realized it was an earthquake and hoped I could just go back to sleep at first. But then, it got worse and worse and worse until pictures were coming off the walls, things were falling down and glass was breaking all around me and it was banging my head against the wall. I tried to get up but I found I couldn't stand up and so I jumped back on the bed and rode it like I was in a boat with the bed as my boat in the water. Because in a bad earthquake the earth becomes like water and moves around like you are in a storm on an ocean. It's a pretty terrifying experience when it gets this bad. Normally, earthquakes aren't that bad and you get used to little ones that you can easily survive. But, the big ones kill people like this one did too.
50 Years Later, an Earthquake's Legacy Continues - USGS.gov
- San Fernando Earthquake, February 9, 1971, 6:01am PST. (Roll 10, Frame 4). Oblique air view northeast into Pacoima Canyon, of housing development northeast ...
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