Shallow M5.8 earthquake hits off the coast of Northern California

A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M5.8 hit off the coast of Northern California at 16:39 UTC (08:39 PST) on January 25, 2018. The agency is reporting a depth of 5 km (3.1 miles). EMSC is reporting M5.8 at a depth of 2 km (1.2 miles). The quake was followed by M5.0 aftershock at 17:24 UTC.

The epicenter was located 164.2 km (102 miles) W of Capetown, 182.5 km (113.4 miles) W of Fortuna (population 11 926), and 185.1 km (115 miles) WSW of Eureka (population 27 191), California.

There are no people living within 100 km (62 miles). Some 2 033 000 peo0ple are estimated to have felt weak shaking.

A tsunami is not expected, NWS NTWC said.

The USGS issued a green alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. There is a low likelihood of casualties and damage.

Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are resistant to earthquake shaking, though vulnerable structures exist. The predominant vulnerable building types are unreinforced brick masonry and reinforced masonry construction.

 Recent earthquakes in this area have caused secondary hazards such as landslides and liquefaction that might have contributed to losses.

Estimated population exposure to earthquake shaking

Selected cities exposed

Regional seismicity

Featured image credit: USGS