Earthquake Caifornia 2015: Moderate 5.7 Magnitude Earthquake Shook Northern Californian Seabed on Wednesday

A 5.7 magnitude earthquake rattled northern Californian coast Wednesday afternoon. No injuries or damages were reported.

According to US Geological Survey, the earthquake occurred 25 miles southwest of Fendale and 205 miles northwest of Sacramento at 17.2 kilometers under the seabed. While calling the earthquake moderate, USGS said that five to 25 small aftershocks can be expected within seven-day period which can be felt locally. The main shock occurred at around 1 p.m.

CNN quoted local officials saying that the earthquake was gentle, lasting about five to 10 seconds. They termed it 'rolling' and jerky while adding that no damages or injuries were reported. National Tsunami Warning Center did not issue alerts as it did not expect the earthquake to produce a tsunami.

"It wasn't the biggest one I've ever felt, but I felt it," said Eureka police spokeswoman Brittany Powell told Yahoo News. Earthquakes of the magnitude 5.7 can cause considerable damage if the epicentre is close to densely populated habitations. As Wednesday's quake occurred in the ocean, there were initial concerns of tsunami which were later ruled out.

California is a seismically active state compared to rest of the country. The 800 mile San Andreas runs through the state. Research in the last decade found that the fault had accumulated enough stress for a large magnitude earthquake.