A tsunami warning has been issued following a 7.0 magnitude earthquake off the coast of northern California.
At least 5.3 million people in the state were under the warning after the US National Tsunami Center raised the alert just before 11am local time on Thursday.
The quake struck at 10.44am local time around 39 miles southwest of Ferndale, a small city in coastal Humboldt County near the Oregon border, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
The tsunami warning is in place for a large stretch of the California and Oregon coasts.
The quake was felt widely across Northern Carolina and as far south as San Francisco where residents felt a rolling motion for several seconds. It was followed by smaller aftershocks.
In the Santa Cruz area, phones buzzed with a tsunami warning from the National Weather Service that said: “A series of powerful waves and strong currents may impact coasts near you. You are in danger. Get away from coastal waters. Move to high ground or inland now. Keep away from the coast until local officials say it is safe to return.”
More than 1.3 million people lived close enough to the quake that they could have felt it, the USGS estimated.
Meanwhile, the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, known as BART, has stopped traffic in all directions through the underwater tunnel between San Francisco and Oakland.
It comes as California governor Gavin Newsom meets with the state emergency officials.
Several quakes have struck off the coast of northern California
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