EERI and the Northern California Regional Chapter hosted this webinar on the recent M7.0 earthquake that struck offshore Cape Mendocino, California. The earthquake struck mid-morning about 40 miles offshore of the Mendocino Coast in Northwest California. It was felt by many along the west coast from as far south as Monterey in California and north as Medford in Oregon, a span of 500 miles. However, the USGS classified the onshore shaking as light. It caused little damage because of the remote epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, but extensive tsunami alerts were issued. Fortunately, no damaging tsunami waves occurred. Notably, two other earthquakes occurred around the time of the M7 quake: M6 of October 30 offshore Brandon, Oregon and M5.8 of December 9 near Yerington, Nevada. These will be briefly discussed regarding their possible connection to the California quake. The webinar featured speaker Jay Patton, PhD, Engineering Geologist, Seismic Hazards Program, California Geological Survey, who presented on the earthquake mechanisms and the seismology. He also shared a presentation prepared by Todd Becker, Tsunami Planning Coordinator, Seismic Hazards Branch, California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, who was unable to participate in the live webinar due to wildfire response duty.
