Small quake rattles North Sound
FRIDAY HARBOR, Wash. -- A magnitude 3.2 earthquake shook the north Puget Sound area Tuesday morning, but there were no reports of damage or injuries.
The quake, which was centered about 5 miles northwest of Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, hit at 8:36 a.m.
One resident in Port Angeles reported feeling shaking for about 1 ½ seconds.
"This (fault) is in the area that produced the 2001 Nisqually quake," said Bill Steele with the UW Seismology Lab. "But rather than being in the South Sound, we're looking in the North Sound area," adding that the fault is capable of producing about a 6.5 to 7.0 quake some time in the future.
"It's a nice reminder that these deep earthquakes that occur on 20-30 years on average occur in the North Sound area too and there are more in our future," Steele said.
Steele says the quake occurred just over 30 miles under ground and that deep quakes are typically not felt as strongly near the epicenter, but felt over a wider area than shallow quakes.
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For more information:
Pacific Northwest Seismic Network earthquake report
The quake, which was centered about 5 miles northwest of Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, hit at 8:36 a.m.
One resident in Port Angeles reported feeling shaking for about 1 ½ seconds.
"This (fault) is in the area that produced the 2001 Nisqually quake," said Bill Steele with the UW Seismology Lab. "But rather than being in the South Sound, we're looking in the North Sound area," adding that the fault is capable of producing about a 6.5 to 7.0 quake some time in the future.
"It's a nice reminder that these deep earthquakes that occur on 20-30 years on average occur in the North Sound area too and there are more in our future," Steele said.
Steele says the quake occurred just over 30 miles under ground and that deep quakes are typically not felt as strongly near the epicenter, but felt over a wider area than shallow quakes.
-
For more information:
Pacific Northwest Seismic Network earthquake report
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