Magnitude 6.5 quake hits off California

San Francisco: A magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit the Pacific Ocean off the coast of northern California on Thursday.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake at 6:49 a.m. local time was centred 172 kilometres west of Ferndale at a depth of 12.1 kilometres, Xinhua reported.

The USGS initially put the magnitude at 6.8. Ferndale is a northern Californian city with less than 2,000 residents.

While the USGS estimated possible fatalities and economic losses due to the event to be low, there was no immediate report of casualties or damage from the area.

–IANS