Earthquake rattles Washington state with shaking felt in B.C.

WASHINGTON STATE (NEWS 1130) – A 4.6 magnitude earthquake that rattled the Three Lakes area of Washington state, just outside Seattle, jolted people in some parts of B.C.

The U.S. Geological Survey reports the quake, recorded at 2:51 am Friday was followed up by a 3.5 magnitude aftershock near the city of Monroe, 48 kilometres northeast of Seattle.

NEWS 1130’s Bruce Claggett who lives in Surrey felt the tremblor.

“We were both lying in bed, my wife and I and just felt this jolt, looked over and the whole window was rattling. It lasted for about 4 or 5 seconds and I said to my wife ‘that’s got to be an earthquake’ and sure enough, it was.”

People in Vancouver, Chilliwack, Abbotsford, and Vancouver Island have reported feeling the quake on the United States Geological Survey’s website.

‘It is an active earthquake zone’

Seismologist John Cassidy explains the type of quakes we felt actually happen quite often.

“The earthquake that we saw today, we see small earthquakes like that virtually everyday through the region but too small to be felt, so magnitude 1.0, magnitude 2.0,” he says.

“Here in B.C. we locate typically about 2,000 earthquakes, 3,000 earthquakes a year so it is the most seismically active region in Canada.”

There have been more than 100 quakes along the BC coast for the past month according to Cassidy, who stresses it’s normal.

“It is an active earthquake zone and knowing what to expect and being prepared, having an earthquake kit, knowing what to do when that shacking begins is really important and can really help minimize the impacts of those earthquakes that we know will happen in the future.”

There are no reports of injuries or damage following Friday morning’s earthquake and aftershock.

– With files from the Associated Press

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