Calm in the Atlantic, increased chance of storms in the Pacific
The Atlantic Ocean is calm as El Niño limits storms. Invest 90E could form off the coast of California. Florida urged preparation.
- On Thursday, June 4, a series of earthquakes occurred off the west coast, including one with a magnitude of 5.7.
- The quake occurred near the Mendocino Triple Junction, a highly earthquake-prone region where three plates meet.
- There are no tsunami threats or significant damage reported from offshore seismic activity.
- California has more than 500 active faults, but scientists can’t predict when an earthquake will occur.
A series of moderate earthquakes rattled waters off the West Coast early Thursday morning, June 4, near the Mendocino Triple Junction, where three tectonic plates meet off the coast of Northern California, one of the most seismically active regions in the United States.
Those included a magnitude 5.7 earthquake off the coast about 190 miles from McKinleyville and a magnitude 5.1 earthquake west of Petrolia, but no tsunami threat or significant damage was reported.
The strongest earthquake occurred just before 4 a.m. Pacific time west-southwest of Pistol River, Oregon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. About two hours later, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck about 40 miles west of Petrolia in Humboldt County. Minutes after the earthquake in the Petrolia area, a magnitude 4.5 aftershock occurred in approximately the same location.
Was there an earthquake today? What about a tsunami?
Preliminary data from the USGS showed that the Petrolia earthquake occurred at a very shallow depth beneath the ocean floor.
The U.S. Tsunami Warning Center said no tsunami warnings, advisories, watches or threats were issued after the quake. USGS impact estimates also indicate that significant damage is unlikely.
Type of earthquake
According to the United Nations, there are four types of earthquakes.
- Crustal earthquake
- volcanic earthquake
- collapse earthquake
- explosion earthquake
What causes earthquakes?
The Earth has four layers: the inner core, outer core, mantle, and crust. The crust and the upper part of the mantle make up a separate region called the lithosphere, which acts like a skin around the Earth’s surface.
However, according to the USGS, the lithosphere is not a single piece, but exists like a puzzle or a series of pieces. These parts of the lithosphere are not stationary and move slowly. These are called “tectonic plates.”
As tectonic plates move and move with each other, they sometimes bump into each other or collide. This places stress on the edges of the plate. If the stress becomes too great, a crack called a “fault” will form. The points where these faults meet each other are called “fault lines.”
When the friction between faults is too great, energy is suddenly released, causing seismic waves and causing earthquakes.
Can earthquakes be predicted?
Earthquakes cannot be predicted. Neither the U.S. Geological Survey nor scientists are predicting major earthquakes, and there is no expectation that will change in the near future.
Are earthquakes increasing?
Although it may appear that earthquakes are occurring more frequently, especially due to real-time warnings and widespread media coverage, the overall incidence of earthquakes remains relatively stable over time.
Any year can appear more active because of improved technology that allows scientists to detect more small earthquakes than ever before, but not because there are actually more earthquakes, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
According to long-term world records dating back to 1900, the Earth experiences an average of about 16 large earthquakes (magnitude 7.0 or higher) each year, with 15 typically in the 7.0 range and one magnitude 8.0 or higher. In 2024, there were 10 earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or higher, with the strongest being a magnitude 7.5 in Japan.
However, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said in a 2023 report that the risk of being affected by an earthquake is increasing due to increased human and economic exposure and the number of properties being built in high-earthquake-risk areas.
USGS Earthquake Map: Magnitude 5.7 map reaches 192 miles from McKinleyville
Magnitude 5.1 hits 60 miles west of Petrolia
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Contributor: Olivia Munson, USA TODAY
Brandi D. Addison covers weather across the United States as a Weather Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. She can be reached at baddison@gannett.com..
