44-magnitude-earthquake-northern-california

4.4 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Northern California

California is experiencing seasonal weather extremes as many of the state’s firefighters work to contain and put out multiple wildfires. Now though, as drought conditions fan the blazes’ growth, California residents elsewhere experienced a 4.4 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday night.

According to Fox News, the minor earthquake caused zero major damage. However, it nevertheless forced firefighters to respond to various emergency calls. These included reports of gas leaks, odor of gas, blaring fire alarms, and stuck elevators. The small quake was concentrated in Santa Rosa in Northern California, located about 50 miles away from San Francisco.

The initial 4.4 earthquake struck the Northern California town at 6:39 p.m. local time. The quake was then followed by a secondary tremble measuring a 3.9 on the Richter Scale. Per the news outlet, the earthquake’s epicenter was located more than 4.5 miles underground. One California resident recalled the unexpected quake while speaking with one of Santa Rosa’s local outlets.

“I wasn’t sure if a plane had gone down nearby,” resident Brooks Anderson said, “it was so loud.”

Regardless, the city’s latest earthquake is hardly the first Anderson’s California home has experienced. The local shared that his house, originally built in 1876, survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The fact is miraculous as that same major quake left thousands of city residents dead.

Earthquakes are common in Santa Rosa, California as the outlet also stated the town lies on the Rodgers Creek Fault line. The Rodgers Creek Fault line lies east of the much more famous San Andreas Fault, located directly beneath San Francisco.

California Mudslides Wreak Havoc in the South Amid Earthquakes in the North

Wildfires, earthquakes, and mudslides—oh, no. While earthquakes rattled Northern California on Tuesday evening, dangerous mudslides as a result of heavy rains are threatening many residents in the South. Like the ongoing wildfires in many regions across the West, the recent mudslides have forced various many residents to either evacuate their homes or, for now, shelter in place.

Far from Santa Rosa, the region most heavily affected by the recent mudslides is San Bernardino County. The southern county has seen some serious structural damage, with a commercial building’s roof collapsing as a result. The ongoing mudslides are part of the aftermath of a recent tropical storm that tore up the coastal state.

The 4.6 magnitude earthquake that struck Northern California on Tuesday evening left residents like Brooks Anderson breaking up downed and potentially broken picture frames and the like once the ground settled. However, a San Bernardino local shared footage of the recent mudslides on Twitter, and his terror is palpable in the clip below.

You can click on the Tweet above to view the video, but the footage essentially captures thick, brown mud racing down a nearby hillside. Recalling the event, the videographer shared he’d been going to pick up his children from school when he suddenly realized the strange sight in the clip was actually mud.