3.7 Quake on Washington Coast a Cause For Concern?

Its not a big one but it is cause for alarm. I live in oregon and even if we have a 2.5 they announce it on the news. We live in tge ring of fire and my 19 years in oregon ive never seen thid "fire". I kno mother earth is brewing one up its only a mattwr of time anywhere on the planet before the "big one"

Thanks to all the responses. I'll ignore the flames because I have already addressed similar comments previously. Everyone is entitled to thier opinion.

I am still waiting for the quake list to be updated with all those quakes I saw out in the sound last night. They usually take awhile.

I DID find a local article from King 5 (Seattle news station):

Magnitude 3.7 earthquake on Olympic Peninsula .

If nothing else, I think this might help prove that I'm not making this up. It IS newsworthy...we do NOT get these kind of quakes all the time.

Something important to note, I feel, are the deep tremors. Again, the deep tremors is phenomenon discovered this past decade. It is unique to subduction zones. These are quakes that take place over minutes and hours vs. seconds. Anyways, the last two days there haven't been very many, but the only ones we DID have were located on the Olympic Peninsula.

Here is the link to the deep tremor website: deep tremors

Thanks to everyone for all the great input and links. @Utahrosebud: I had never seen that before! Good info. Amazing how much energy is involved.

ETA: (It's great to hear that people enjoy some of my threads. Thanks for the compliments!!)

Hopefully that quake was NOT a pre-curser to anything and there will be nothing else to talk about (today )

Originally posted by QBSneak000
I may be wrong but I thought that a lot of small quakes was a good thing seeing that it is relieving pressure on the faults rather than no quakes and one huge one to relieve the pressure, whereas a lot of small quakes near a volcano could mean an eruption may be soon.

In theory that is correct, however logic says that since you have pressure on all sides of said plate then even small releases on one side would tend to allow the pressure on the other side to cause a slippage that is possibly greater than the series of smaller quakes have allowed.

Well, that happiness I felt this weekend was short lived. I was thrilled that my relative finally left LA and moved North. I figured she was safe from the "Big One". I am a firm believer that California was destined for a giant quake but never thought of Washington/Oregon.

Thank you for all the links, I have added them to my favorites. I believe the author of this thread is very wise to wave the flag and get our attention. We need to slow down and listen to what nature is telling us. This doesn't mean panic, this means have an emergency supply.

I live in British Columbia so I stay up on the earthquake situation every week. 3.7 quake in Washington isn't too much cause for concern but definitely nothing to look at lightly.

I have heard that a bunch of smaller quakes are better to have as it eases the pressure so when a larger one does occur it is not as big as it could be.

I check this site weekly, here is the link if you are interested -
earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca...

I take all the precautions, water, food, first aid, etc. I hope everyone else is doing that too. My good friend lives near Fukishima in Yamagata Japan and wasnt very prepared when the quake hit. He said for sure to stock up and stock up well. Also a battery powered radio is what he missed the most, one of the best things to have he said. You are sitting at home in the dark and you know its bad but not how bad cause your not connected to any media. Just helps ease the stress of the unknown....big factor....

Originally posted by westcoast

ETA: (It's great to hear that people enjoy some of my threads. Thanks for the compliments!!)

We certainly do. You're about the only member who starts threads that I'm consistently interested in. And you do it without trying. I'd send you a brownie, but the extra weight might destabilize the megathrust zone further, so I'll keep them for myself. It is the thought that counts, right?

reply to post by westcoast


Thank you for your answer. I also never looked at that site until I saw it mentioned in one of your threads, and I did not know about USGS only showing 3.5 or larger for that area. Seems like we should be monitoring the entire subduction zone in one place, but I guess each country has its own data, and that makes sense.

Also, that is very interesting that the tremor array extends up there.

Originally posted by CLPrime

Originally posted by westcoast

ETA: (It's great to hear that people enjoy some of my threads. Thanks for the compliments!!)

We certainly do. You're about the only member who starts threads that I'm consistently interested in. And you do it without trying. I'd send you a brownie, but the extra weight might destabilize the megathrust zone further, so I'll keep them for myself. It is the thought that counts, right?

I will second that.
Westcoast your threads are very informative, easy to understand and you always teach me something new every time. You also spread awareness.
Thank you

earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca...

Does a small earthquake mean that a larger earthquake is coming?

No, except for very rare exceptions. Every year, hundreds of earthquakes occur in Canada. Only a very tiny minority of these precede a larger earthquake.
Although a large earthquake may be preceded by a foreshock (the Saguenay earthquake of November 1988 is an example), the occurrence of a small earthquake is not in itself a typical sign. Hundreds of small earthquakes occur every year in Canada, whereas major earthquakes have occurred only a few times in this century.
A small earthquake, however, provides an ideal opportunity to offer reminders about safety measures to take before, during and after an earthquake.

reply to post by leo123


I agree with you most definately. If this were true, we would be having mega quakes all the time. It's because this one, based on location and depth, seems to be coming from the subduction zone itself. That does not happen often here, so it got my attention.

As to the compliments...well, now I am just blushing. Seriously though, thank you. I am glad that my goal of spreading some awareness and maybe sparking some interest in the area seems to have reached a few people. That's great to know! I still have the thought rolling around in the back of my head to pursue a degree..maybe by the time I'm 50.

It's nice to hear people talking about being prepared. Can you believe that I never even had a bug-out bag until earlier this year? I got a bit more obsessed than usuall earlier this year...those of us following fragile earth for the past year or two can probably attest. I had a growing sense of something, but now real reason for it. I found that not only some of my on-line friends were feeling the same way, but real-life friends and family too. I got a good bug-out bag put together and even bought earthquake insurance. My feelings climaxed on the eve of the Japan quake. I made a couple of posts right before and even called some family earlier in the day because of the overwhelming sense of doom I had. I may be a little wierd, but this was out of the norm for me. I guess that what I am trying to say, is that even though I have been aware of the dangers for over a decade now and an avid quake watcher, I had never taken any real steps to prepare myself and my family. It really is just common sense. It shouldn't take a disaster to prompt us.

The radio is a great idea, and I'll take it a bit further and suggest a hand-crank radio. I have one that runs on batteries with the option to hand-crank. You can just never have enough batteries! I have a hand-crank flashlight attached to the outside of my bug-out bag with the radio crammed inside.

Again, still none of those quakes I saw last night have made it to the list.......*shrug*, we'll see. Glad that nothing more has come of it so far.

To the poster that just moved their family up from the South: I think it was a wise move. I know we are poised for a big one here, and we may very well get it, BUT I still really think the mega thrust quake is going to happen down in California. This is based on my theory presented in my other thread...and more of that gut feeling.

As always, thanks for the heads up westcoast.

I've been noticing oddities since about Thurs/Fri of last week and was wondering if any activity was kicking up. I don't know if they're connected, but *something* is going on. BTW I'm in the Bellevue/Redmond area which is just east of Seattle.

Most notably (for me personally):

Thu/Fri - People were so spaced out in la la land everywhere I went. No less than 4 personal instances (in 2 different cities) at intersections where the light turned green...and nobody went. And then... nobody honked at them to go either.

Thu/Fri - The birds were flying in front of the vehicles everywhere I went. On highway 405, 520, etc. They were being all kamikaze. Even later in the afternoon, one flew straight into the glass of my bedroom window.

The elevators at work are getting increasingly bizarre. Showing the wrong floor (showing 18th floor but really on the 2nd floor), skipping floors completely that were pressed, going down when it showed it was going up, etc. It's the same for all 6 elevators.

Other minor things - internet connections randomly going on and off, phones not sending messages, etc. Increase in complaints of headaches, ear ringing, sudden inability to sleep (one woman in particular said for the first time ever she wasn't able to sleep even after taking an Ambien.)

I *only* bring these up because I simply want to know whether others in the area are experiencing anything similiar, because I want to know if this is just something local or more widespread to help me determine whether it's related to the uptick in activity.

sidenote - I actually felt the 3.4 tremor on Sat. afternoon (different from 3.7 one), while shopping at Redmond Town Center. So I'm really interested & paying attention to other potential things going on around me.

Nope! can we be any clearer.

What is of concern is people freaking over little quakes all the time.

Book yourself a holiday!

reply to post by onthelookout


Hey onthelookout!

I'm really glad you posted because you just made me open my eyes and realize a couple of things... so thank you!

I'm in Utah... Salt Lake City area and on Saturday the light situation and no one moving or honking to get them moving, happened twice. I remember thinking to myself, "wow, is everyone busy texting rather than paying attention?!" And thinking how odd it was.

I also have noticed birds dive bombing towards cars. In addition, I have also had 3 fly into my windows during the past 3-4 days. Fortunately they were able to shake it off and were ok.... but it's never happened before. And I spend a lot of time at home.

Internet connection - 12 years of having the same company and connection, without issue, yes the past week things have been rough. No explanation from the phone company and they have tested everything and it all shows things are working properly. Additionally to that... I have Dish Network Satellite for my TV viewing pleasure. I have also had them for 12 years. The past week, the signal goes out at least 10 times a day. No exaggeration. I called them as well and like the phone company, no explanation. Everything tests out fine.

REALLY bizarre!

Very interesting post as I live in Seattle myself. I was here for the Nisqually quake in 2001 and took interest myself in what was going on beneath my feet.. We live in a very geologically unique zone, similar in some parts to Japan. I'm just waiting for that inevitable Cascadia Mega-Thrust EQ to hit one of these days.

reply to post by RustyNailer


Hi there! I was here for the nisqually quake too. I had started watching the area a couple of years before that, so it was fun to jump onto USGS at work and be the only one who had a clue! You tend to get a bigger bug when you experience a large quake first-hand.

@onthelookout and Utahrosebud; well, just speaking for myself the only similarities I've experinced is some difficulty sleeping the past week or two (wierd dreams) and some increased ringing in my ears. Could be hormones, I guess.

It's bugging me that none of those micro quakes I saw last night and today are on the list as of now. I have screen shots of GEE to prove it. Some nice big P waves coming across it right now...maybe the 5.8 in Russia? They seem too pronounced for that, but it is hard to tell. It depends so much on the station and then where the quake was, how deep, etc. Fascinating stuff.

There were several more quakes today, but really only one of them of interest. A 2.0 on the peninsula at a nice depth of 42 km. Sound familiar?

Magnitude 2.0 - duration magnitude (Md)
Time Monday, July 25, 2011 at 6:02:07 PM (PDT)
Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 1:02:07 (UTC)
Distance from Skokomish, WA - 8 km (5 miles) WSW (242 degrees)
Shelton, WA - 14 km (9 miles) NW (312 degrees)
McCleary, WA - 27 km (17 miles) N (3 degrees)
Tacoma, WA - 60 km (37 miles) W (277 degrees)

Coordinates 47 deg. 18.0 min. N (47.300N), 123 deg. 14.9 min. W (123.248W)
Depth 42.4 km (26.3 miles)
Location Quality Good
Location Quality Parameters Nst= 39, Nph= 40, Dmin=7 km, Rmss=0.23 sec, Erho=0.7 km, Erzz=0 km, Gp=50.4 degrees
Event ID# uw07260102
Additional Information map
Topo map centered at earthquake (This link takes you offsite).

source


Some more deep tremors again today...right about where the above 2.0 quake was.

Originally posted by westcoast
reply to post by leo123

 

I agree with you most definitely. If this were true, we would be having mega quakes all the time.

It's because this one, based on location and depth, seems to be coming from the subduction zone itself. That does not happen often here, so it got my attention.

As to the compliments...well, now I am just blushing.

Seriously though, thank you. I am glad that my goal of spreading some awareness and maybe sparking some interest in the area seems to have reached a few people. That's great to know! I still have the thought rolling around in the back of my head to pursue a degree..maybe by the time I'm 50.

Honey, I am beyond 50 so no blushing is necessary.In fact, I could likely be your father.

Interesting posts Outlook & Utah. I am in the Rocky Mts and we were having satellite issues Fri, Sat & Sun. I am not sure if it is earth related or a issue that comes from the higher ups.

Something just happened on the Olympic Peninsula. GEE had been going along fine and then all of the sudden went off the charts. USGS is not showing anything yet.

In any case, I took a snapshot of the screen. Here you go . . .

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/2da4beccb81f.jpg[/atsimg]

ETA: Additional image to display more activity.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/a10384510484.jpg[/atsimg]

reply to post by Bishop2199


Good catch! I think that's going to be the 5.9 down in the Gulf of California (Where I think the Cascade subduction zone continues to)



Magnitude

5.9



Date-Time

Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 17:44:21 UTC
Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 11:44:21 AM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones



Location

25.186°N, 109.550°W



Depth

10.2 km (6.3 miles)



Region

GULF OF CALIFORNIA



Distances

86 km (53 miles) SW of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico
138 km (85 miles) NNE of La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico
142 km (88 miles) WSW of Guamuchil, Sinaloa, Mexico
947 km (588 miles) SSE of PHOENIX, Arizona




Location Uncertainty

horizontal +/- 17.7 km (11.0 miles); depth +/- 2.8 km (1.7 miles)



Parameters

NST=359, Nph=363, Dmin=358.4 km, Rmss=1.66 sec, Gp=162°,
M-type=teleseismic moment magnitude (Mw), Version=9



Source

Magnitude: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Location: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)



Event ID

usc00054fu


Travel time is about right for the P waves.....I'm not positive about it, but pretty sure.

Updates list of quakes for the past few days:


map 1.2 2011/07/26 10:25:05 46.498N 122.658W 22.8 14 km ( 9 mi) WSW of Mossyrock, WA
map 1.9 2011/07/26 08:14:43 42.126N 124.207W 22.5 10 km ( 6 mi) NE of Brookings, OR
map 1.3 2011/07/26 01:35:34 48.237N 121.652W 1.1 4 km ( 2 mi) WSW of Darrington, WA
map 1.1 2011/07/25 22:30:47 46.913N 121.939W 14.8 19 km (12 mi) NNE of Ashford, WA
map 2.0 2011/07/25 18:02:07 47.300N 123.248W 42.4 8 km ( 5 mi) WSW of Skokomish, WA
map 2.3 2011/07/25 13:51:28 46.872N 122.285W 0.0 1 km ( 1 mi) WNW of Eatonville, WA
map 1.7 2011/07/25 08:03:51 45.120N 120.932W 17.9 13 km ( 8 mi) ESE of Maupin, OR
map 1.1 2011/07/24 23:52:43 46.399N 119.269W 6.4 13 km ( 8 mi) N of Richland, WA
map 1.0 2011/07/24 08:59:26 47.754N 122.138W 24.9 1 km ( 1 mi) E of Woodinville, WA
MAP 3.7 2011/07/24 05:19:28 47.708N 123.178W 42.3 20 km (12 mi) WNW of Brinnon, WA
map 1.0 2011/07/24 05:07:13 46.763N 121.940W 5.2 6 km ( 4 mi) E of Ashford, WA
map 1.4 2011/07/24 03:33:53 48.619N 123.040W 15.1 9 km ( 6 mi) N of Friday Harbor, WA
map 1.6 2011/07/24 01:27:40 47.435N 121.819W 20.4 6 km ( 4 mi) SW of Riverbend, WA
map 1.5 2011/07/24 00:37:39 48.604N 123.045W 13.1 8 km ( 5 mi) N of Friday Harbor, WA
map 1.9 2011/07/24 00:15:13 48.612N 123.043W 13.9 9 km ( 5 mi) N of Friday Harbor, WA
map 1.1 2011/07/23 21:47:18 48.615N 123.038W 13.6 9 km ( 6 mi) N of Friday Harbor, WA
map 1.6 2011/07/23 20:04:41 48.227N 121.640W 5.2 4 km ( 2 mi) SW of Darrington, WA
MAP 3.4 2011/07/23 01:03:40 47.645N 121.728W 17.1 14 km ( 8 mi) E of Carnation, WA


Source- PNSN


So we have had a couple of quakes coming from the subduction zone in a 24 hr period....nothing too big and it doesn't seem to be increasing. So far, it seems to be isolated.