How often do earthquakes occur in the Pacific Northwest?
Typically, each year we locate over 1000 earthquakes with magnitude 1.0 or greater in Washington and Oregon. Of these, approximately two dozen are large enough to be felt. These felt events offer us a subtle reminder that the Pacific Northwest is an earthquake-prone region. As residents of the Pacific Northwest, we should be prepared for the consequences of larger earthquakes that could result in damage to the transportation systems and lifelines. There have been about 25 damaging earthquakes in Washington and Oregon since 1872. In the 20th century, about 17 people lost their lives due to earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest. • Q: How many and what size of earthquakes occur near Seattle? A: In the 20th century, there were eleven earthquakes of magnitude 5 or greater that have occurred near Puget Sound: in 1904 (M 5.3), 1909 (M 6.0), 1932 (M 5.2), 1939 (M 6.2), 1945 (M5.9) 1946 (M 6.4), 1949 (M 7.0), 1965 (M 6.5), 1995 (M 5.0), 1996 (M 5.3), and 1999 (M 5.1). Most of the events are asso
