Mendocino area struck by quake
On April 25, 1992, the Cape Mendocino earthquake shook Humboldt County, injuring over 400 people and destroying more than $60 million worth of property and to-date remains the most destructive earthquake on record to hit the county.
The earthquake, which caused the only federal disaster declaration ever issued after an earthquake in Humboldt County, marked its 30th anniversary on Monday, and Cal Poly Humboldt's geology department created a website to commemorate the event.
“At least 100 houses in Ferndale, Rio Dell and Scotia went off their foundations. It destroyed the Scotia shopping center and it produced the first nearsource tsunami that we've ever experienced in our area since written records,” said Lori Dengler, an emeritus professor of geology at Cal Poly Humboldt. “And so we hope that by viewing the video and by visiting the website that people can learn more about what happened 30 years ago and use it as encouragement to think about your preparedness plans now because we're certainly going to have earthquakes like that, again.”
The earthquake caused a small tsunami and caused aftershocks over the course of 18 hours that measured at magnitudes of 6.5 and 6.6.
The web page, which can be found at https://rctwg.humboldt.edu/capemendo92, features historical summaries and geological knowledge of the earthquake, in addition to information about how earthquake and tsunami preparedness has changed since 1992. The website also features a 13-minute virtual field trip of the Mendocino triple-junction area produced by geology department alum Thomas Dunklin.
Part of the goal in getting people to visit the website is to increase geology education and to illustrate through the virtual tour the beauty of Cape Mendocino.
“For people who are here, and for people who weren't here, we have not had as many earthquakes since then. Certainly in 2010, and a number of people will probably remember our December earthquake, that again, was centered at the triple junction. But it was quite a bit smaller than others, knocking some items from shelves and a really weak wall out of the Loleta Creamery building. It really didn't do much damage,” Dengler said.
Dengler encouraged Humboldt County residents to download the MyShake app, which can warn residents of incoming earthquakes before they happen, giving them the precious few seconds needed to take cover. Additionally, in the event of a particularly nasty earthquake, Dengler noted that the North Coast could be cut from aid, so storing emergency food, water and medicine is a worthwhile task for residents.
“I just met someone last night, a new faculty member in our department, whose very first earthquake was the December earthquake. And she had gotten the MyShake app on her phone. So she actually got a notification that the earthquake was going to happen about five seconds before the ground shook. So that was her very first earthquake that she actually had an alert for it and she knew to get under a table and hold on to it while the ground was shaking,” Dengler said.
Dengler said she appreciates feedback on the website, and can be reached at lori.dengler@humboldt.edu