6.2-magnitude earthquake hits Northern California

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An earthquake measuring 6.2-magnitude on the Richter Scale struck the Northern California coast, bringing significant shaking but likely minimal damage to the sparsely populated area on Monday. According to the National Weather Service, a tsunami was not expected to follow.

The earthquake occurred just after noon and was centred off the coast about 337 kilometres northwest of San Francisco, just off a tiny town called Petrolia that's home to fewer than 1,000 people. The nearest population centre, Eureka, is about 72 kilometers north.

That left only about 25,000 people in the range of strong or very strong shaking, according to the US Geological Survey, though residents as far away as Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area reported feeling trembling.

The Humboldt County Sheriff's office of emergency services did not issue any evacuation orders, though a few roads were closed due to rockslides.

The US Geological Survey estimated economic losses of less than USD 10 million and no fatalities.

The area last suffered an earthquake of a similar magnitude in 1993, when one person died, according to the USGS.

Petrolia General Store manager Jane Dexter told the San Francisco Chronicle the rumbling and shaking lasted for about 20 seconds. Glass bottles fell off the shelves at the store, bursting on the floor, but no one was hurt, she said.

"It was bigger than (anything) I've felt in a long time out here," she told the Chronicle.

(with AP inputs)

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