California is regularly shaken by tremors and seismologists say a quake capable of causing widespread destruction is almost certain to hit the state in the next 30 years.
A strong 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of northern California, the US Geological Survey has said, as local authorities and media reported thousands of power outages and bridge damage.
No injuries were immediately reported following Tuesday's earthquake, which occurred at 2:34 am near Ferndale, a small community about 345km (210 miles) northwest of San Francisco and close to the Pacific coast.
It was about 16.1 kilometres (10 miles) deep, USGS said.
There was no risk of a tsunami after the quake, the US tsunami warning system said.
In Ferndale and surrounding Humboldt County, more than 55,000 homes and businesses were without power early Tuesday, the electric grid tracking website Poweroutageus.com said.
The California Independent System Operator, which oversees much of the state's electrical grid, issued a transmission emergency notice for the area following the earthquake.
Local media reported that the California highway patrol was responding to reports of cracks in the Ferndale bridge over the Eel River in and out of Ferndale, a town of about 15,000 people 420km (261 miles) north of San Francisco and 31.54km (19.6) miles south of Eureka.
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