5.0 EARTHQUAKE HITS NEAR PETROLIA
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck a sparsely populated area of Humboldt
County on Wednesday, shaking residents out of their sleep but causing no
injuries or damage.
"I felt it. It rolled and rolled and rolled and shook the windows. It woke
me up. It woke a lot of people up," said Diane Clark, a clerk at the Honeydew
General Store.
The quake struck just before 5 a.m. Its epicenter was eight miles
west-southwest of Petrolia, which is in one of California's most seismically
active areas, with three continental plates meeting.
The quake also was felt in Eureka, about 50 miles away.
The area experienced a 7.2 quake in April 1992 that leveled the Petrolia
store, post office and fire station and caused considerable damage further
inland.
On Wednesday, residents said they heard the roar of the quake first,
sounding like a truck coming through their house, before it hit.
It was followed by 2,900 aftershocks - most so small that they weren't
felt, but an unusually high number of aftershocks for a 5.0 quake, said Dave
Oppenheimer, a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey.
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