California Earthquake: NorCal Welcomes 2023 With Magnitude 5.4 Quake

Northern California was still reeling from a terrible earthquake before Christmas when a 5.4 quake struck Humboldt County on New Year's Day.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the epicenter of the Sunday morning quake was located about 26 miles from Eureka and nine miles from Rio Dell, the city severely impacted by the December 20 quake, said Yahoo.

The Church services and New Year's Day brunches were reportedly disrupted by the shaking.

Previous California Earthquake Hit Days Before Christmas

The first shock occurred in the middle of the night a few days before Christmas, waking up residents and falling walls and cracking roadways.

The town had not fully recovered from the 6.4-magnitude quake when another struck on New Year's Day, when much of the world is at peace and the sun is shining, per New York Times.

At 10:35 a.m., another magnitude of 5.4 hit the Northern California town, severely damaging roads and houses and fraying nerves.

"It's a new year; there's no clouds, it's not raining. And boom, just when you think you're in recovery, it's back to response," Rio Dell's mayor, Debra Garnes, said.

She also noted that even though they were exhausted, residents of the surrounding area and the state of California stepped up with donations of mattresses, water, and cleaning materials, and people are trying to rise again.

Cynthia Dobereiner had to reorganize her home after the first earthquake less than two weeks ago and said everything was on the floor.

She added that the second earthquake did more damage despite being smaller and the new crack that emerged on her walls worries her.

Recent California Earthquake Feels More Violent, Says Mayor

"It was crazy. The earthquake felt more violent this time," Garnes told CNN.

She added that the second earthquake felt more intense, explaining that the short quake had moved her fridge two feet, throwing everything out of it and that her walls got a crack.

The mayor said that the shake damaged her neighbors' houses.

The Northern California region has been hit by its second earthquake in a month. Two people were killed on December 20 when a 6.4 earthquake struck the area. Garnes reported that 73 homes in Rio Dell were deemed unsafe, and 27 were yellow-tagged because of the earthquake.

Garnes told CNN that they were starting over and had moved from their response to recovery, and now they are basically in both.

The southern part of town was hit particularly hard, so they needed to respond quickly this time.

The mayor reported that the city had lost "pockets" of power and that 30 percent of the water supply had been cut off.

She reported a 35-foot-long fissure in a major thoroughfare of the city.

Garnes said that some homes and buildings affected in the December quake were damaged even further on Sunday and that some may have to be torn down.

However, state and local agencies and aid from neighboring towns have shown a great response from the community, as the mayor put it.

Amid the crisis, everyone is doing their best to help them get through this, Garnes affirmed.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) issued a "green pager" for the most recent earthquake, indicating minimal to no economic losses and known casualties as of Sunday morning.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: 5.4 magnitude earthquake shakes Northern California town - From KTLA 5