Magnitude 4.3 earthquake hits Washington: Residents feel shaken around Puget Sound near Seattle
- The minor earthquake was felt in areas north of Seattle
- Some people have reported their houses shaking a bit or feeling like the couch they were sitting on was momentarily moving
An earthquake measuring 4.3 on the Richter scale struck western Washington on Sunday evening.
The earthquake, recorded by the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, was felt by some in the Puget Sound region, northwest of Seattle, and just south of Port Townsend.
The US National Tsunami Warning Center said a tsunami was not expected in the wake of the earthquake.
The seismic network (PNSN) determined that the epicenter of the earthquake was just below Marrowstone Island, a small island southeast of Port Townsend and northwest of Seattle.
The earthquake, which occurred at 7:21 PM PST, had a depth of 57 kilometers.
The United States Geological Survey initially reported it as having a magnitude of 4.5, but was eventually downgraded to a 4.3.
The minor earthquake was felt in and around the greater Seattle, Washington area
The epicenter of the earthquake was on Marrowstone Island, a small island southeast of Port Townsend and northwest of Seattle
There were no reports of structural damage caused by the earthquake that was felt across northern Washington
ShakeAlert, the earthquake early warning system staffed by the US Geological Survey, accurately detected the quake, according to PNSN, but determined it was not of a large enough magnitude to notify the public via mobile alert.
There are no reports of structural damage caused by the earthquake.
X (formerly Twitter) users who were in the vicinity of the earthquake shared their experiences.
In Everett, which is north of Seattle, Patty Nolan said it felt like someone was walking on the roof and rattling my stove vent. Wondered if it was an earthquake.’
One person said he thought what ended up being an earthquake was his dog hitting his chair.
Seattle residents confirmed some of them felt it too.
As is usually the case after minor earthquakes, some users reported, in good nature, overdramatizing the severity of the tremors.
One X user said: ‘I didn’t feel it but I noticed my roomba started behaving strangely. Crazy stuff.’
“We will rebuild,” wrote another, pointing to the notable lack of damage caused by the quake.
In just a few days on October 19, in Washington and elsewhere, the Great Shakeout exercise will take place, during which people, businesses, schools, etc., will test their earthquake preparedness skills by experiencing an earthquake at 10.19am.
The last really strong earthquake to hit the state of Washington was the Nisqually earthquake of 2001 – a 6.8 earthquake that lasted only 45 seconds but caused significant damage, including ripping open the ground and collapsing several buildings.