6.5-Magnitude Earthquake Hits Northern California

A magnitude-6.5 earthquake struck off the coast of Northern California Saturday afternoon, damaging buildings, knocking out power in several coastal communities and leaving a trail of broken windows and dishes south of the Oregon border. The powerful quake hit at about 4:27 p.m. PST about 22 miles from Ferndale, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Residents of an apartment building in Eureka were evacuated, and an office building and two other commercial structures were declared unsafe for occupancy, according to Humboldt County spokesman Phil Smith-Hanes. "Our initial reports were that, though this was a pretty decent quake, we survived it well," Smith-Hanes said, adding that damage assessents would continue on Sunday across the county.