Two dead after 6.4 magnitude California quake leaves 70,000 without power

Eleven people were reportedly injured, even as assessment of total number is ongoing, said officials

A magnitude 6.4 earthquake shook parts of northern California early Tuesday, jolting people awake, damaging buildings and roads and leaving tens of thousands without power. Two fatalities have been linked to the quake “as a result of medical emergencies occurring during and/or just following” the incident, the Humboldt county sheriff’s office reported Tuesday afternoon.

Centered just south-west of the town of Ferndale in Humboldt county, a small community near the coast about 213 miles (343km) north-west of San Francisco, the quake took place in area where tremors aren’t uncommon. But locals called it the largest in recent memory.