4.3-magnitude earthquake felt across Puget Sound region
Oct 8, 2023, 8:11 PM | Updated: 10:47 pm
Official reports from the U.S. Geological Survey ShakeAlert are confirming a 4.3-magnitude earthquake struck the Puget Sound region at 7:21 p.m. Sunday.
The epicenter was located just under Marrowstone Island near Port Townsend and approximately 10 miles from Freeland in Island County.
Check out the MyNorthwest Earthquake Tracker
“I felt it here in downtown Seattle, sofa shaking and the water inside a bottle also moving a little bit,” one resident told KIRO 7.
The earthquake also had a depth of 57 kilometers, according to the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network.
According to NWS Tsunami alerts, no tsunami is expected to follow.
Seattle has two primary faults. The Seattle Fault and the Cascadia Subduction Zone are the two faults that run through Seattle, with the former running east-west through the middle of the city, and the latter exiting along the coastline.
The Seattle Fault is capable of earthquakes of up to 7.4-magnitude, while the Cascadia Subduction Zone is capable of a magnitude 9.0-earthquake
ShakeAlert is an automated system designed to warn people that an earthquake has occurred and shaking is imminent, but was reportedly not activated, according to Geekwire, because the earthquake was below magnitude 4.5. ShakeAlert debuted in Washington two years ago.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
