Los Angeles, Dec 21 (IANS): At least two people were killed and 11 others injured after a massive 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck Northern California's Eureka area, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, adding that there were reports of damage to houses and buildings while tens of thousands were left without electricity.

According to the USGS, the epicentre of the quake that struck at 2.34 a.m. on Tuesday, was in the Pacific about 15 miles from Fortuna, a city of about 12,000 people in Humboldt County, reports CNN.

The Humboldt County Sheriff's Office said the two deaths occurred "as a result of medical emergencies" during and after the temblor.

The USGS said more than a dozen aftershocks, some measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale, were recorded after the initial massive quake.

As of later Tuesday, over 70,000 electricity outages were reported in Humboldt County, out of a total 99,000 customers, according to utility tracker PowerOutage.us.

Tuesday's temblor came a year after a 6.2-magnitude quake struck just off Humboldt County's Cape Mendocino on December 20, 2021, and caused minor damage to buildings in the area.