Northern California “dodged a bullet,” , after a 6.9 earthquake struck off the Eureka coast at 10:18 p.m. PST on March 9.
“This easily could have been a catastrophe,” Humboldt County Sheriff’s Lt. Steve Knight told .
The nondeadly quake was the largest to shake the West Coast since a 7.2 tremor rocked Southern California in 2010. It was felt as far south as San Francisco and as far north as southern Oregon.
By 7 a.m. PST Monday, had recorded 21 aftershocks, with magnitudes reaching as high as 4.6.
The strong quake鈥攚hich had similar power to the famous 鈥攐ccurred 50 miles off the coast, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration did not issue a tsunami warning.
the quake had a relatively gentle rocking effect, despite dislodging books from shelves.
For the time being, the West Coast appears to be safe鈥攂ut beware:聽The next “megaquake” could very possibly shake San Francisco or Los Angeles.