6.0 Earthquake (downgraded to 5.9)
USGS says it hit 34.7 miles WNW of Petrolia at 12:20 pm. Humboldt Herald readers felt it in Burnt Ranch, SoHum and Eureka.
A 6.0 is about 50 5 20 times less intense than the 6.5 Quake that hit January 9th (correction thanks to Humboldt State seismologist Bob McPherson).
Info airing at KHUM and KEKA.
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The Humboldt Herald 
Shook here in Arcata near HSU … no damage but was definitely felt!
Aw come on Heraldo, don’t we get credit for feeling it down here too? Soft rolling waves, several of them for much longer than the last one.
Uhhhhhhh
Logarithmic scale bro.
Logs invert 10^x.
So, Log x = 6.5 compared to Log y = 6.0 is like comparing 10^6.5 to 10^6 which is only like x = 3y, so about 1/3.
I’m no mathematical genius or nothing, but it ain’t 500 times dude. 500 times as strong would turn your house into a pancake breakfast.
Maybe 5 times less intense….the Richter scale is logarithmic so each full number means 10x the intensity, not 1000x.
have a peaceful day,
Bill
It felt fairly strong here on Humboldt Hill, but it usually does. No where near the 6.5.
Sorry Longwind, I thought that was obvious.
in Klamath
I’m twitchy because some poster after the last one thought we didn’t share enough pain. I’m trying, I’m trying.
Correction, it’s 50 times less intense. My understanding is a that, for example, a 6.1 is ten times more intense than a 6.0.
Twitter users report feeling it in Seattle and Richmond.
Oh, and in actual energy released as opposed to strictly amplitude, a 6.5 produces ~5.3x as much energy as a 6.0
For comparison, that earthquake that drowned Indonesia had ~100,000 times as much wave energy.
I think the other commenters nailed it, that each digit is an order of magnitude larger, so a 7.0 is ten times stronger than a 6.0, and in our case this one was more like 5 times less intense, than the last one, not 50.
It felt 5 times less intense to me ;^].
A 6.1 is 1.4x as much energy as a 6.0, 1.2x the amplitude. Not ten times dude.
I am DJing right now for KRFH.net Student Radio at Humboldt State University. The bottom of Gist Hall definitely felt it. We’re a little shaken up, but no damage. Not many updates from media? What’s up??
I guess you did.
Ok, Longwind. I think that’s right. I blame Quake adrenalin for any miscalculation.
Thanks for getting the info up so fast, Heraldo. How you scoop the Sub-Standard on a daily basis is beyond me! Its gotten to the point where I read this first to find out what’s going on in my town. That paper is worthless. (Tiny tangent, sorry!)
I wonder how Sophie did with this one. Maybe the T-S newsies will update us. She is one of our most famous citizens now, her last video went internet platinum. :)
have a peaceful day,
Bill
any reports from Ferndale? I read in the T-S that there were several yellow tagged buildings there, and how about the OTB&G? did it shed any more bricks?
http://mathcentral.uregina.ca/beyond/articles/earthquakes/richter.html
felt in McKinleyville and Bayside…
I was in Eureka and I thought initially that it was a huge wind gust. Then, Brad said it was an earthquake and I quickly realized he was “correct-o-mundo”. I am still wondering where the energy went for being a 6.0 though? It felt like a 3.8 +/- imo – just did not feel like a 6.0.
Jeffrey Lytle
McKinleyville – 5th District
Power out in Arcata but may be wind related.
T-S reports that it was an aftershock of the other one. Didn’t know aftershocks could come so late? If so, I fear for Haiti…
Small jolt then gentle roll in Eureka near Sequoia Park. Nothing compared to the 6.5 a few weeks ago. Still it freaked me and the dog out a bit…apparently still a bit of trauma left from the last one.
Sooo..when does the print edition of this rag come out? I will happily subscribe and dump the TS (if you deliver).
Heraldo’s blog saves trees…
Heraldo, where is the power out in Arcata?
KHUM said city hall and some residences.
Thanks. Got power a block away from City Hall. Lucky, I suppose.
Instead of the Richter scale and its debbil logarithms, how’s about a curse-worthy scale.
The last one rated a substantial “oh f*ck,” this one was more like “son of a …”
The USGS website downgraded it to a 5.9.
From what I have gathered we experienced no quake-related damage, no power outages and all appears secure. The crew working in the OTB&G building reportedly scrammed pretty quickly, but who can blame them? {G&E reports no outages. The Coast Guard, however, is actively searching for someone reportedly washed off the jetty.
Thanks Dan. I was wondering about the OTBG. Hope they find the person off the jetty.
…I am still wondering where the energy went for being a 6.0 though? It felt like a 3.8 +/- imo – just did not feel like a 6.0..
It depends on how deep and how far away the earthquake was in regards damage and how it feels. We could have a 4.5 and have it rip the county apart if it originated right near the surface of some of the local faults like C/R or King Salmon.
While I suppose the total energy of an earthquake is of some academic interest, I prefer the modified Mercalli scale (MMI), which provides a subjective sense of shaking and damage. You can click here to see an MMI map for this quake.
Following up on Mitch 1:57 above, my experience of the 6.5 was definitely “oh f*ck!,” while my experience today was sub-curse, more like “oh, that’s an earthquake. Hmmm.”
Heraldo-
can you link to the USCG press release regarding the search and rescue operation.
Sure. If I can find it.
Hey Fred,
exactly what was discussed immediately after the quake with regard to depths, distances, types, etc…
Compared to the other recent quake which was in the same general location, it is bewildering to understand where the majority of the energy went (eastward, southerly, northerly, etc.) in today’s quake. Did the water absorb more or less energy because of the shallow depth depending on the type of quake? I dunno. Any ideas?
Jeffrey Lytle
McKinleyville – 5th District
each whole step in magnitude is about 31.6 times more energy than preceding magnitude. magnitudes are given in moment magnitude scale which is a function of strength of crust being broken and area of fault rupturing. This eq occurred further offshore than earlier eq. What you feel is a function of eq size, distance to EQ, travel path, and local site effects.
Heraldo’s blog saved a little toddler who ran out into the street this morning.
Fred’s blog was barreling down on that poor child and actually accelerated at the last second!
Hank’s blog robot recorded the incident as a red light having been run.
The Watchpaul blog opined that Fred’s blog will probably get a plea deal, again.
Erik’s blog responded by raising our awareness of an important national issue.
The Humboldt Mirror erected red traffic lights in front of the balloon tract with Bonnie’s face glowing from within.
Greg & Carol’s blog reminisced about the good ol’ days before traffic lights.
Lynette’s blog featured a photo of teenage Fred on his horse barreling down on high school sweethearts Greg and Carol holding hands while walking along a country foot path.
The Ranch blog filed a police report, finally identifying who stole Great Grandpappy’s colt oh so many years ago.
Like Fred was saying, magnitude isn’t everything. We might well survive a 9+ subduction megathrust earthquake, no problem. When it comes to immediate catastrophic damage, it’s all about peak ground acceleration (PGA).
Thankfully, we haven’t had an intense PGA earthquake near any of the major cities in all of the few hundred years that people have been paying attention. All there has been is that one megathrust quake and a handful of offshore quakes. Even though our faults and cities are situated perfectly for a ground-splitting, building collapsing less than 7 magnitude quake, it probably won’t happen unless I am safely somewhere else on vacation.
First reported to be about 11 miles deep which is actually pretty shallow but whoever said if it has been a surface rupture it would have caused a lot of damage is correct since the closer to the surface the more it shakes things.
Felt in McKinleyville but was not as strong as the January quake. Upstairs in house so felt it pretty good there.
For those in the Spring Street and Albee area of Eureka – PG&E will be working on something and the power will be off all morning.
surface rupture generally does not occur until about magnitude 6.5 plus. The eq occurred west of subduction zone so there isn’t a lot more crust to rupture than about 15-20 km.
Anon at 4:18 you, my unknown friend, have won the internets for today. Well played, I say again, well played.
via KINS:
Lost Coast News,
The Coast Guard and Humboldt County Sheriff located the owner of the abandoned surfboard. His surfboard was sighted by a Good Samaritan who called the USCG. This led to the search for a possible person in the water. He positively identified his surfboard and the case has been closed.
Thanks all!
-Todd
LT Todd Vorenkamp, USCG
Group/Air Station Humboldt Bay, Calif.
All this points up the fact that there has not been a big one here in a long, long time. We are in the 300 year window now, when we can expect an 8 or greater magnitude. That is a lot of shaking folks. Hopefully we will all be dead and gone when that one happens. Until that happy day, at the very least, make some preparations, flashlights, canned foods, etc.
It may not take “the big one” to change Eureka’s waterfront.
in the subduction quake of 1853 we lost 4 feet of elevation with a 5.7…
first entry on the link below
Thanks Todd for the C.G’s work-a-holic efforts!!!
Inform the rest of the crew sign-ups for adult league soccer coming soon for Spring ball! We know you all will be “in shape” ready to run, run and run.
Jeffrey Lytle
McKinleyville – 5th District
NCSOA
An Earth-quake causes heavy loss. Experts call for taking adequate precautions to minimize losses. Alarmed by the recurrence of quakes during recent years, should be taken as a signal for a major earthquake.