Seattle Earthquake

There were no immediate reports of damage from a 4.5-magnitude earthquake that rattled the Seattle and Puget Sound area early Friday, but it woke a lot of people up.

A 4.5 magnitude earthquake shook the Puget Sound area of Washington state early Friday morning, January 30, 2009 according to the USGS. The good news is that surrounding infrastructure seems to have weathered the seismic event without damage.

The quake, at a depth of 36 miles, occurred at 5:25 a.m. and was centered 14 miles northwest of Seattle near Kingston in Kitsap County.

The U.S. Geological Survey initially reported it as a 4.6-magnitude quake, but the University of Washington report on the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network listed it at 4.5.According to DOT spokeswoman Kristy Van Ness, crews remain in the field doing follow-up checks of bridges and other support structures. Initial examinations were made with flashlights in the dark, with no reports of damage.

The University of Washington is reporting it as a 4.5 quake on the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network. It was felt throughout the Puget Sound area in Western Washington. There were reports that the quake was felt in Victoria, British Columbia, 71 miles to the north.

Seismic Network director John Vidale said the quake was from the same general source as the 6.8 magnitude Nisqually earthquake of Feb. 28, 2001. That quake disrupted operations at SeaTac International Airport, and damaged the Capitol building in Olympia as well as the Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle.

The network shows it was felt throughout the Puget Sound area in Western Washington, and people reported feeling it in Victoria, British Columbia, 71 miles to the north.

Many said they were shaken awake.

"It shook the house like something had hit the roof," said Robert Lyden on Anderson Island in Puget Sound. "It just woke us up." Other than knocking a water fountain off his deck there was no damage, he said.

Lacey Menne says it shook her home as she was preparing to go to work at the Coastal Cafe in Kingston.

"It wasn't strong enough to make anything fall," she said. "It was like, what is that? I think it might be an earthquake. It's totally an earthquake!"

Seattle radio and TV stations heard from callers who said they felt the shaking for 10 or 15 seconds.

Small quakes are common in the Pacific Northwest. This morning’s quake was the largest in Washington since October 2006.