A man who lives off East Lucas Street in La Center reported this morning feeling the ground shake against his bare feet and items on his computer bounce around at about 10:36 a.m. for up to nine seconds.
About 50 miles away, the U.S. Geological Survey is reporting two earthquakes, including a 4.3 magnitude, six miles north of Mount St. Helens.
“I travel every week,” said Jason Johnson of La Center. “I’ve been in a lot of earthquakes down in the San Diego area. I felt the ground shaking.”
Karrie Humphries of Orchards emailed The Columbian, “I think we had a small earthquake.”
As of about 11 a.m., 450 people from as far south as Portland and north to Randle reported having felt the earthquake, according to Leslie Gordon, a spokeswoman for U.S. Geological Survey. “It was felt very weak to light shaking,” she said.
The 4.3 magnitude earthquake came first. It was 3.1 miles deep and occurred in the Mount St. Helens seismic zone at 10:35 a.m. A magnitude 2.5 earthquake occurred two minutes later in the same area, at a depth of 1.7 miles.
According to the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, there were at least 15 quakes, mostly in the magnitude 1 range, with a couple around magnitude 2.5, recorded over the weekend. Experts say the earthquakes were caused by faults and not volcanic activity.
“It does not have anything to do with volcanic activity,” Gordon said. “Nothing to worry about.”
Johnson said a six-foot tall desk on his home’s main level rocked forward and appeared on its way to toppling when it fell back into place. He said the desk’s windows shook back and forth.
“I felt it, easily, for about eight to nine seconds,” he said of the earthquake.
Check back for additional details.
Did anyone else feel the ground shake? Tell us about your experience in the comments section.
