On Thursday, December 5th, 2024, just off the coast, our little area in the Pacific Northwest (of California), was hit with a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, along with hundreds of aftershocks. We’re beginning to associate December with earthquakes, as we had another large earthquake in December of 2022 that caused a tremendous amount of damage.

This earthquake didn’t result in major destruction compared to the smaller magnitude earthquake in 2022, but did result in a brief tsunami warning. The quake was so strong that I actually got under my desk, which normally I don’t do because they tend to be over before you know it. Damage was minimal in our office, although we lost our beloved Grumpy statue, and drawers were opened and things knocked out of cupboards and off shelves.

Immediately after, we all began the process of checking on one another. I received a phone call from my oldest daughter who is 12. I could hear kids crying in the background and she was calling because she needed to be picked up. The school had a gas leak and needed to close the school for safety. My younger daughter (at a different school) also needed to be picked up. I was impressed at how well all the schools handled getting the kids out and organized. It was my youngest daughter’s first experience with an earthquake that she remembers, and she said it was very scary.

The earthquake in 2022 resulted in my home being without power for three days and cell service being very spotty, with text only messages being the only option for communication. And sometimes, in areas like Ferndale, CA, even those weren’t always working. This time, I was only without power for part of the afternoon.

There are many people here who experience symptoms of PTSD due to the significant earthquakes we’ve had over the years. One of the main reasons we make and carry emergency radios is because of the founder Bob Crane’s experience in 1992:

In 1992 three earthquakes hit Humboldt County where we live. All three hit within a 17-hour period with magnitudes of 7.1, 6.6, and 6.7. Communication and services including electricity were hopelessly overloaded. In the Crane home shards of broken glass were everywhere and so were bare feet. All of our flashlights had been overused by our blessed children. We vowed to make a good emergency radio so this would never happen again.

Fortunately, our house was set with flashlights, batteries and emergency radios. I also invested in a generator after losing much of my frozen goods in 2022. Our showroom here in Fortuna was busier than usual for several days after this earthquake.

If you’d like to get the simplified “scientific” details on what happened – listen to this video and release by USGS.

Here are some videos showing how far away this earthquake was felt:

We know not everyone experiences earthquakes, but everyone needs an emergency radio because you never know what kind of disaster might occur. It could be a natural disaster like this, or it could be something manmade. In any emergency, information is power and having a reliable source is invaluable.

Here are all our emergency radios https://ccrane.com/emergency-radios-1/. If you’re not sure about which radio is best for you, please contact our US based customer service https://ccrane.com/contact-us/ and we can help you decide.