Magnitude-4.8 earthquake widely felt across Washington state

By Associated Press December 30 at 11:14 AM

SEATTLE — A magnitude-4.8 earthquake in Canada jolted residents across northwest Washington state, but no major damage or injuries were reported, authorities said Wednesday.

The quake struck around 11:40 p.m. Tuesday 11 miles northeast of Victoria, Canada, and was 31 miles deep, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

“It was felt for a good 150-mile radius,” said Randy Baldwin, a USGS geophysicist.

It’s not unusual for an earthquake of this size to hit along the West Coast and Vancouver Island in British Columbia because there’s a large subduction zone in the area that produces lots of seismic activity, Baldwin said.

He said the temblor was widely felt but he has not heard of any major damage. He said the agency had not recorded any aftershocks.

The city of Vancouver said there were no known reports of damage. Washington residents said pictures fell off shelves and the shaking woke them up.

“All of a sudden, my whole house was out of control,” Kellen Lamborn of Anacortes told Seattle television station KOMO-TV. “And it continued, and it got worse and worse. It woke up the whole neighborhood.”

The Geological Survey’s website recorded more than 11,000 reports of the quake being felt.

“I felt a huge tremor; it bounced me side to side,” Hector Girr of Port Angeles told the TV station.

The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office in Washington’s San Juan Islands received many calls from residents wondering if there was a quake but no reports of damage or injuries, said Tom Eades, a 911 dispatcher.

The islands are located between Vancouver Island and mainland Washington.

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