Did you feel shaking? 6.2 earthquake rattles California’s North Coast near Humboldt County

A 6.2 magnitude earthquake in California’s far northwestern corner Monday afternoon rattled items on shelves as far as the Sacramento Valley and in San Francisco.

Just after 12:10 p.m., the U.S. Geological Survey reported the quake 45 miles southwest of Eureka near the town of Petrolia.

The federal government did not issue any tsunami warnings. More than a dozen smaller earthquakes were reported in the same area on Monday. Damage so far appears to be minimal. Local officials issued no reports of major injuries.

“PLEASE DO NOT CALL 9-1-1 UNLESS EXPERIENCING AN EMERGENCY,” the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office wrote on Facebook.

The Eureka Police Department said on Facebook that no major issues were reported.

Local journalist Caroline Titus reported on Twitter that glass had shattered on some buildings in Ferndale, and members of the fire department were going around doing inspections.

Numerous people took to Facebook and Twitter to report feeling the shaking. Some were more than 150 miles away.

“Moderate to strong shaking was recorded by the seismic network along the coast,” the US Geological Survey wrote on Twitter. “The earthquake was felt in San Francisco by this CGS geologist!”

Residents as far away as Redding, Chico and Siskiyou County reported feeling the quake.

Some locals close to the epicenter reported on social media they received automated emergency earthquake alerts on their mobile phones just prior to feeling the quake.

Craig Tucker, an environmental consultant who lives in Humboldt County, wasn’t one of them.

He said he didn’t get his alert until moments after the quake had rattled his office in Arcata.

“I was standing up on the phone and standing next to the window,” he said. “It did make me take a couple of steps to get my balance. It was a little scary.”

This story was originally published December 20, 2021 at 1:02 PM.