Tiny earthquake beneath West Seattle – anybody notice?

We didn’t hear about it till Ron Zuber of Morgan Junction sent the official government report a few minutes ago: At 6:54 this morning, there was a 2.1-magnitude earthquake centered in West Seattle, north of Schmitz Park, about seven miles down (here’s the USGS page; here’s the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network info page; here’s another map you can use to zoom in on the spot). That’s pretty tiny as quakes go, but notable nonetheless, especially in light of the Northern California quake yesterday, and always a good excuse to bring up preparedness info again: Just so happens our newest sponsor is the Emergency Communication Hubs project, which shows you where to go for information and help if need be in case of disaster – go here to find your nearest hub.

Living in West Seattle Since 1985 January 10, 2010 (9:38 pm)

My dogs woke me up and wanted to go outside

Jeff Jorgenson January 10, 2010 (9:41 pm)

Thought people may find this site one helpful (interesting) for future reference:

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/

Jeff

miws January 10, 2010 (9:48 pm)

I would have been in the basement of my apartment building, in the Morgan Junction around that time, just getting started on my laundry. Didn’t notice anything unusual.

Mike

Bonnie January 10, 2010 (9:51 pm)

Nope, slept right through it but I’m over by the ferry dock and that is a bit of a ways from Schmitz Park.

Mr. Matt January 10, 2010 (10:05 pm)

I was 100% asleep and considering that I live almost exactly above the epicenter AND it was 7 miles down I probably wouldn’t have even felt it if I was wide awake.

Neat to hear about it after the fact, though!

busser January 10, 2010 (10:08 pm)

No, didn’t feel it, but definitely noticed the cat’s behavior was bizarre Thursday evening, just LOTS more hyperactivity than usual, jumping up on sills & surfaces a lot more than usual, and running around – my first thought was ‘we’re going to have an earthquake’. Hmmm…not sure if Thursday-Sunday is a legit connection, but…interesting?

dsa January 10, 2010 (10:43 pm)

Question: If earthquakes are the earth’s plates shifting, sliding, moving one on top of another etc., why do they always have an epicenter like a stone with waves in all directions in a still pond of water? Or am I just thinking of over simplification as seen on early news reports?

Shakin\' Nulu January 10, 2010 (10:56 pm)

WSB,
How is this, “notable nonetheless, especially in light of the Northern California quake yesterday”?
Is there a connection between the two?

The The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network calls it a “Micro Earthquake”. Is that technical term interchangeable with “Tiny”?

Ebaer January 10, 2010 (11:55 pm)

dsa-
Indeed, that is a over-simplification. The seismic waves to travel outward in all directions, but they may be more severe in some places and in some directions. A good example is the Nisqually quake in 2001 which had its epicenter below Olympia, hardly touched Tacoma, but did lots of damage in the pioneer square district downtown and in some areas of West Seattle.

Wayne Dyck January 11, 2010 (6:40 am)

WSB,

If you follow @pnwquakes on Twitter the account monitors information from USGS and UW on earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest. It tweets on magnitude 1+ quakes.

WSB January 11, 2010 (6:57 am)

Thanks – just added (will put on our “news” list as well, which also has helpful-resource automated Twitter accounts like the one that turns everything from the live Seattle Fire 911 site into text tweets with map links). Funny thing is, some other news orgs apparently weren’t really paying attention either earlier in the day, – last night after I tweeted this
http://twitter.com/westseattleblog/statuses/7619586030
when Ron sent the note and I verified info was available online, KIRO tweeted it several minutes later,
http://twitter.com/KIRO7Seattle/statuses/7619900330
also as if it were new news … TR

alki_2008 January 11, 2010 (9:28 am)

Odd, the Google Map on the USGS map Jeff noted in the second comment indicates the epicenter was over near Spokane/California intersection – more East of the park than North of it.
.
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=47.5719+-122.3864(M2.1+-+SEATTLE-TACOMA+URBAN+AREA%2C+WASHINGTON+-+2010+January+10++14%3A54%3A18+UTC)&ll=47.5719,-122.3864&spn=2,2&f=d&t=h&hl=e
.
Not sure which map is more exact, but seems the Google one links to a more precise GPS coordinate?

pam January 11, 2010 (10:45 am)

false alarm – 6:54 was when i noticed son didn’t take garbage can down last night so I jumped up and down throwing a tantrum! haha

sv January 11, 2010 (10:48 am)

My wife and I both felt a very small “shake” and asked if that was an earthquake? We live about a block north of Madison Middle School on 45th, so not too far from Schmitz Park.

rw January 11, 2010 (12:24 pm)

Interesting. At just ab. that time the printer wouldn’t print, and the wireless network and Internet started flaking out. Very frustrating and aggravating start to the morning. The mini-quake would explain why the universe was a bit off kilter.

Cheers.

West Seattle Sun January 11, 2010 (2:25 pm)

I was distracted by the increasing jet engine noises from the southern skies. I was up and honestly did not notice the tremor.

quake January 11, 2010 (7:36 pm)

I think any earthquake no matter how small in Seattle is notable. It could be a precursor to a bigger one. Preparedness is good to always keep in mind. We really often forget how devastating a big quake would be here. Thanks WSB.

quacking nulu January 12, 2010 (6:09 pm)

Quake, you are sooo right!
Just today there was a huge Mag 7 quake in Haiti.
And last night my gecho started barking, notable in light of these events.
Everyone please check your earthquake/disaster kits and turn off you car alarms, the racket from which upsets the kids and pets.

lgcrandall January 14, 2010 (12:00 am)

I noticed a few things slid off of shelves…I didn’t feel anything though. I assumed it was an earthquake but hadn’t heard anything on the news. I’m in a basement not far from the Alaska Junction.

Sorry, comment time is over.