Magnitude-4.6 Earthquake Rattles Seattle Area Awake
A magnitude-4.6 earthquake awakened people across the Seattle area just before 3 a.m. local time on Friday. Several smaller aftershocks also hit the region.
The epicenter was near Three Lakes, Wa., about 35 miles north of Seattle, and tremors were felt across the Puget Sound region. There were no early reports of injuries and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said there was no tsunami risk.
Generally light shaking reported over a wide area of Puget Sound from a magnitude 4.7 #earthquake at 2:51 a.m. Centered east of #Everett.
Followed by an aftershock in the 3 range two minutes later. #wawx #waquake (best info as of 3:07am) pic.twitter.com/OHwtCfbfWw— Morgan Palmer (@MorganKIRO7) July 12, 2019
A 4.6-magnitude quake is relatively benign, but it comes just six days after a magnitude-7.1 quake struck Southern California, the region’s worst in 20 years.
Seattle is close to Mount St. Helens, Mount Baker, Glacier Peak and Mount Rainier, four of the U.S.’s most active volcanoes. Earthquakes can increase the risk of volcanic eruption, according to the USGS.
Wow! Did anybody else feel that earthquake in Seattle? It went on shaking for a good 40-50 seconds! #EarthquakeSeattle
— diane lewis (@dianelewis48) July 12, 2019
JUST FELT MY FIRST SEATTLE EARTHQUAKE pic.twitter.com/fBfhBhjYvn
— Jesse Zook Mann (@zookmann) July 12, 2019
Felt my girlfriend shaking me in the middle of the night but realized I don’t have one. #earthquake #Seattle
— Saket Sinha (@saketsinha1120) July 12, 2019