The quake occurred at 10:45, local time, at a depth of ten kilometers and ten miles west of the city of Ferndale. The magnitude was 7.0, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
Several smaller aftershocks have been recorded. The earthquake was also felt in San Francisco, significantly further south.
Jessica Turner, geophysicist at USGS, says that several small earthquakes have been recorded in the area over the past few days – but they were too weak to be felt.
It doesn't necessarily mean that we knew something bigger was coming, she tells Bloomberg.
An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 struck San Francisco in October 1989 and knocked out power and killed over 60 people in the entire region.
