Businesses Start Cleanup, Recovery After 6.2-Magnitude Earthquake Rattles Northern California

Businesses across swaths of Northern California have begun their cleanup effort following a 6.2-magnitude earthquake that struck off the coast of Eureka, first felt about 12:10 p.m. Monday, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey.

The temblor caused significant shaking across the state, and led to multiple aftershocks with registered magnitudes as high as 4.3. However, the National Weather Service reiterated that no tsunamis were expected to form as a result of the natural disaster.

Locales across Northern California reported damage, and residents of the San Fransisco Bay Area, about 270 miles south from Eureka, felt the shaking.

Debra Garnes, the mayor of Rio Dell, 25 miles south of Eureka, stated that residents of her town felt "intense shaking" at the time of the earthquake.

Eureka, the seat of Humboldt County and the nearest major city to the earthquake, only saw minor damage to a number of buildings across town. No devastating damage or injuries have been reported.

Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal described the earthquake to CNN, saying that "It was slow-rolling at first, but then it really got going. We haven't had a shake like this since 2010."

Local journalist Caroline Titus tweeted pictures and videos of the destruction and cleanup efforts throughout the day in Ferndale, 20 miles south of Eureka. Businesses across the city's main street were damaged, and one image showed items on shelves broken and tossed about at Valley Grocery, a small store whose owner, Rangeet Singh, told CNN that the total damage to his store was estimated at $15,000.

"We have a lot of mess," Singh said. "I never felt [an earthquake] that long before."

An additional video from Titus showed the inside of a liquor store next to Valley Grocery. Employees could be seen cleaning as Titus described a "Strong smell of bourbon. Broken water lines in upper building. Buckets everywhere."

Titus tweeted out many additional images of the destruction, including those from her own kitchen, in which items appeared to have been tossed out of cabinets. Another picture showed a smashed window at a local leather and shoe store.

An additional video showed the owner of a small business called Lost Coast Living taping up his shattered window after the earthquake rumbled through his historic storefront.

California's Office of Emergency Services tweeted that it was "monitoring" the situation and "coordinating closely with local partners in the region to protect communities from any secondary impacts."

This is not the only large earthquake to impact California in recent months. Over the summer, a July 6.0-magnitude quake struck Antelope Valley in northern Los Angeles County.

Newsweek has reached out to the Northern California Earthquake Data Center for comment.