A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.8 struck central California and was felt as far north as San Francisco and Sacramento, the US Geological Survey said tonight.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger toured the community hardest hit by the state’s first deadly earthquake in nine years, declaring a local state of emergency as aftershocks rattled beneath the central California wine country.

More aftershocks rattled central California today following a magnitude 6.5 earthquake that killed two people, injuring dozens and wrecked a landmark clock tower.

At least two people were killed when an earthquake rocked California’s central coast and shook the state from Los Angeles to San Francisco.

At least one person died when a powerful earthquake rocked California from Los Angeles to San Francisco tonight, destroying buildings in a coastal town.