Magnitude-4.3 Earthquake Rocks Northern California
A magnitude-4.3 earthquake hit just outside Fort Bragg in California on Sunday at about 5:05 a.m. PDT (8:05 a.m. EDT), according to the U.S. Geological Survey, or USGS.
Local police reported neither injuries nor significant damage were caused by the earthquake, the Associated Press said. At this time, no aftershocks have been reported by the USGS.
Quakes of magnitude 4.3 rarely cause significant damage, but they are quite noticeable and occasionally cause damage in areas with poor building codes. About 13,000 earthquakes of this size occur each year.
According to the USGS's listings, Sunday's earthquake is California's largest since early last month. Because California sits on several fault lines, the area is prone to earthquakes. Most quakes in the area, however, are rarely rated above magnitude 3.0, meaning they are normally too small to be felt.
The largest Californian earthquake in the last decade was a magnitude-7.2 quake off the coast of Northern California. It caused a small tsunami near Crescent City, and rumbling was felt in places as far away as Oregon and the San Francisco Bay Area. A magnitude-6.6 earthquake in 2003 killed two people and collapsed several buildings near San Simeon.
Fort Bragg, a popular tourist spot, is about 140 miles away from both San Francisco and the state capital of Sacramento.
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