Breaking News: Residents in Fear as Powerful 6.8 Magnitude Earthquake Rocks California

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Breaking News: Residents in Fear as Powerful 6.8 Magnitude Earthquake Rocks California

Residents of California have been rocked by an earthquake measuring nearly seven on the richter scale.

According to Daily Express, the 6.8 magnitude quake struck just off the western coast of the US, roughly six miles deep and 102 miles west of Ferndale, California, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

It was initally registered as a whopping 6.8 but was later downgraded to a 6.5. The earthquake hit around 2.50pm on Thursday afternoon, 6.50am local time.

Officials have received reports of the tremors from some 281 people on land, with one San Francisco resident, Lila LaHodd, reporting: "Felt 20 seconds of very light shaking.”

Officials have not reported and injuries or damage in the nearest towns.

Mayor of Ferndale, which has a population of roughly 1,300, Don Hindley said he felt trembling for roughly 15 seconds.

He said: “It wasn't that bad at all.”

Some 250 miles south in the San Francisco Bay area the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) agency tweeted that they were running its system with a 10-minute delay due to the quake.

They said it was was a standard precaution.

The richter scale, which measures seismic activity, ranges from three to seven, with anything in the range of 6 to 6.9 defined as “strong”, with enough energy to damage buildings, potentially leading some to totally or partially collapsing.