Reflecting back on the Ferndale earthquake one year later

It was a rude awakening in the early morning hours of December 20, 2022. The Ferndale earthquake interrupted a quiet night with damage across Humboldt County.

“That earthquake produced the third strongest acceleration we’ve ever recorded in a California earthquake. And even though it wasn’t huge as far as magnitude, when you’re sitting very close to a 6.4, it is a big one indeed,” Cal Poly Humboldt Professor Lori Dengler said.

Rio Dell suffered the brunt of the damage.

“The community has really come together. And the county and state agencies have certainly assisted the city of Rio Dell. With 25 percent of your housing stock damaged, that meant a lot of people were displaced. And the county did a lot by putting forth funds,” Dengler said.

The impacts of the quake are still felt today and are highlighted in the 2023  issue of “Living on Shaky Ground”

This marks the 30th anniversary of the first issue.

“Last time we revised it was in 2014 and were able to include a lot of new things. We’re able to include more information on early emergency warning systems, the MyShake, the WEA alerts, the wireless emergency alerts. And we’ve been able to include information on the Ferndale earthquake,” Dengler said.

The magazine also offers ways to stay safe during an earthquake or tsunami, what to prepare in an emergency and other information about our region’s history.

“The bottom line is we are in the most earthquake prone region of the lower 48 state. On average, we have an earthquake strong enough to knock some items off shelves somewhere every three to five years,” Dengler said. “And roughly every 15 to 25, we have an earthquake that does real damage. The problem is earthquakes aren’t like clockwork.”

Between 2010 to the December 2022 earthquake, there was a quiet period of time in which large quakes did not affect the region.

Yet, there is still no telling when the next one may strike.

“Earthquakes are clumpy. Are we still in an earthquake clump? I don’t know, but we certainly could be,” Dengler said.