On Thursday Morning an Unusually powerful M7.0 Earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean near Eureka (The United States).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on December 5th, 2024. Last updated December 20th, 2024.

In the morning of Thursday December 5th, 2024, an unusually powerful MAG-7.0 earthquake hit in the North Pacific Ocean 54 miles from Eureka, The United States. The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 45 miles (72 km) off the coast of The United States, 54 miles southwest of Eureka in California. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 6 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Dec 5, 2024 10:44AM (Los Angeles Time) - Dec 5, 2024 18:44 Universal Time.
Location:	54 mi SW of Eureka, California, The United States. Coordinates 40°22'26"N 125°1'18"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 7.0 Detected by 18 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.2 .
Depth:	6 mi (10 km) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	IX Violent On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Potential tsunami risk The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Potential tsunami risk

There is a potential tsunami risk in the aftermath of this earthquake, immediately evacuate to higher grounds away from coastal areas and monitor advice from local authorities. The US Geographic Survey organization has indicated a potential risk for tsunami's following this earthquake.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Significant economic impact

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 96% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level YELLOW (significant). They expect an 34% likelyhood of between 10 and 100 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 96% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 1,000 million USD.

Roughly 9 million people exposed to shaking

An estimated 9 million have been exposed to shaking (An MMI or Modified Mercalli Intensity level II or higher) as a result of this earthquake according scientific estimates published by the USGS.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is VIII, which corresponds with severe shaking and likely moderate to heavy damage. Roughly 260 people are expected to be exposed to this level. The majority of people (roughly 5.7 million) live in an area exposed to level II, where very weak shaking and no damage is expected.

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in The United States . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Eureka in California, The United States. Eureka is located 54 miles (87 km) southwest of the epicenter. The intensity of shaking and damage in Eureka is estimated to be around level V on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (moderate shaking, very light damage).

Major cities near this earthquake: San Jose is located 269 mi to the south-east (intensity unknown, possibly low). San Francisco is located 227 mi to the south-east (intensity unknown, possibly low). Sacramento is located 225 mi to the east-southeast (intensity unknown, possibly low).

A complete list of nearby places is included below. Estimated intensity data (MMI) sourced from a shake-map published by the US Geographic Survey is shown where available (cities without data probably experienced little impact).

Overview of nearby places

Earthquake Intensity Map

The intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured for this earthquake is VIII.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Shaking reported by 8 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 8 people have reported shaking in 5 places, all within Canada.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: 3 people.
• Sooke, British Columbia, Canada: 2 people.
• Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada: 1 person.
• Victoria, British Columbia, Canada: 1 person.
• Walnut Grove, British Columbia, Canada: 1 person.

207 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 207 smaller aftershocks. A 4.7 magnitude earthquake hit 2 mins later 6 mi (10 km) east-southeast of this earthquake.

Before this earthquake struck, 4 smaller foreshocks occurred. Roughly 1 day before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-4.4 was detected nearby this earthquake.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

Aftershocks are usually at least 1 order of magnitude less strong than main shocks. The more time passes, the smaller the chance and likely strength of any potential aftershocks.

In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major earthquake.

This is an unusually powerful earthquake

No earthquake of this strength has struck this region for a long time. Our data goes back 10 years, and no earthquakes measuring a magnitude of 7 or higher have been detected within 300 km (186 mi) of this epicenter.

Sources

Last updated 20/12/24 23:58 (). This article is automatically generated based on available data. We keep checking multiple sources for additional information. This article gets updated as new details on this earthquake become available.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake nc75095651
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20241205_0000209
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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