11 injured and at least 2 dead after the 6.4 earthquake
According to authorities, a 6.4-magnitude California Earthquake that shook Northern California has resulted in at least two deaths from medical problems, damaged the area, and left tens of thousands without power in Humboldt County.
Mayor Debra Garnes said that one person died in Rio Dell during the California earthquake, however, it is unknown if this person was one of the two fatalities listed by the Sheriff’s Office. There were at least 11 injuries.
Early phone notifications of the earthquake went out to more than 3 million people. According to officials, the messages offered people up to 20 seconds to get ready.
Devastation, sorrow, and tenacity in earthquake-devastated California towns
Sacramento, California Residents of the remote villages in the Eel River Valley could only perceive the harm that Tuesday’s earthquake had caused to their lives five days before Christmas as they searched their homes in the dark with flashlights.
Homes covered in glass fragments. broken frames of photos on the ground. They are surrounded by broken cups and souvenirs. Kitchen cabinets and bookcases were emptied.
But by dawn light, the destruction was plain to see. Front porches were in disrepair. A structure caught fire. The beloved, multi-arched Fernbridge, a 1911 Humboldt County monument, and survivor of previous earthquakes and floods were shut down by the California Department of Transportation. The guardrails were twisted as a result of the violent shaking.
At one time, more than 70,000 people were without electricity. According to estimates, 150 households had either lost their houses or were awaiting word on their future.
The 6.4 magnitude earthquake that struck at 2:34 a.m. served as yet another reminder of the forces that have molded California for millennia as well as the cost of living on the edge of the continent.
The Redwood-surrounded communities on this small floodplain, just a few miles from the shore, had a dejected air by late afternoon.
Deborah Dobereiner, who resides in the fire station in Fosters Mobile Home Park with her daughter and son-in-law, sought refuge there. She claimed that the earthquake was so strong that it snapped the straps holding their house to the ground and caused it to move by about three feet.
Unsure of where she and her family would spend the night, she remarked, “We’re not even thinking long-term right now.” “All we’re doing is praying like crazy that we can stay there.”
The Rio Dell Fire Department said that around a dozen families were looking for temporary housing.
Residents started cleaning up with a mix of resiliency and grit while aftershocks kept everyone on edge. Many people from Humboldt County traveled to Eureka to shop at Costco, which was operating on a generator and had been open since 3:30 in the morning.
Along Highway 101, the strip malls were dark. Normally crowded with holiday patrons, the parking lots for Old Navy, Bed, Bath & Beyond, and Chipotle was vacant.
Residents are used to relying on one another, even if it means crying and occasionally laughing, as they are no strangers to suffering in an economy mostly supported by the dairy and forestry industries.
Owner of the Double D Steak and Seafood in nearby Fortuna, Debbie Chisum, joked that the area smelled like a horrible New Year’s party as she directed workers and volunteers to pick up broken bottles of wine and spirits. Weeks of holiday planning lay in ruins, just like her Christmas tree that was sagging on the ground.
Chisum was used to the force of earthquakes because he had experienced them before. She said, “They are so noisy, and all your stuff is flying out of the cabinets and hitting the floor. “It seems like your house is going to collapse.”
She claimed that this one was unique though.
She continued, “Honestly, I was just in tears,” explaining her feelings right after the earthquake.
Wooden boards rapidly covered the smashed windows in the community that locals refer to as the Friendly City, while shop owners were busy sweeping up glass.
Heather Herrick, the owner of the Haute Hoarder boutique, was touched to see that the business’s damaged windows had already been covered when she checked on the situation of her vintage shop on Main Street.
A decent person, she said.
At the neighborhood Fire Department in Rio Dell, bottled water was being distributed. The floor was covered in hundreds of volumes that had fallen from the stacks, and a librarian was rearranging them. In Scotia, a small hotel opened its doors to the displaced, and over yellow caution tape, neighbors commiserated.
Jose Beltran, a retired firefighter who is now a volunteer firefighter, distributed bananas and croissants while helping residents who needed a hotel room or charging stations for medical equipment like dialysis machines.
I was aware that we would be required, he claimed.
He claimed that his house had the appearance of having been picked up and tossed back down, with the interior resembling a disorganized “yard sale.” Soon after his initial shock, he checked on his neighbors to make sure no gas leaks were there.
However, his primary concern was for his kid, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. Beltran admitted, “I couldn’t get into his room right quickly.
Theresa Adams remembered feeling the walls of her home tremble and fearing that it wouldn’t stop. She described how she later lighted a few candles once she located a torch and stated, “It was dreadful.”
She then went to check on her wheelchair-using 80-year-old neighbor. He was in good shape.
As dusk fell, Rio Dell became more silent and more completely enveloped in darkness. Low 50s were reached as the temperature began to fall.
Dobereiner and her family had booked a hotel room but were still concerned about what might happen to their mobile home. She broke down in tears when she realized she had a place to stay the night. Her daughter’s boss agreed to cover the cost.
She added, “Right now, we wouldn’t be able to achieve that on our own.”