California town a ‘total mess’ following 6.4-magnitude earthquake

(NEW YORK) — A California town is a “total mess” following a 6.4-magnitude earthquake that struck the coast, according to local officials.

There is no power or water in the city of Rio Dell after the earthquake caused a major water main break and shook homes off their foundations, a Humboldt County official said Tuesday morning.

The “notable” 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck the northern coast of California early Tuesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Preliminary data placed the center of the quake along the Pacific Coast about 7.5 miles away from Ferndale, California, USGS said. The quake was recorded at about 2:34 a.m. local time.

Multiple people were rescued Tuesday morning after they were trapped in a building that collapsed, Samantha Kargas, public information officer for the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, told ABC News.

More than 71,000 customers — about 72% of those in Humboldt County — had lost power as of about 4:45 a.m. local time, according to tracking website PowerOutage.us.

“Power is out across the county,” officials said on Twitter, adding in all-caps: “Do not call 911 unless you are experiencing an immediate emergency.”

The sheriff’s office also said there was “widespread” damage to roads and homes throughout Humboldt County, including the Fernbridge in Ferndale. There were at least two injuries in the county, both from falls, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said.

State Route 211 was closed at Fernbridge after the roadways and a bridge suffered possible seismic damage, according to the California Department of Transportation.

Significant damage was also recorded in Fortuna, where stores were seen with broken windows due to the tremors.

The quake was large enough to trigger a “ShakeAlert” that was sent to cellphones by FEMA’s Wireless Emergency Alert System, officials said.

“We hope everyone is safe and if you felt shaking or got an alert you took a protective action like Drop, Cover, and Hold On,” USGS said.

A tsunami wasn’t expected, according to the U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center, which reported the quake at a preliminary magnitude of 6.1.

ABC News’ Izzy Alvarez, Keith Harden, Liz Kreutz, Bonnie McLean and Jennifer Watts contributed to this report.