A 4.6 magnitude earthquake rumbled from near Monroe early Friday morning, shaking buildings to the southwest around Seattle while most of Capitol Hill slept through the ride.
There were no reports of significant damage or injuries from the 2:51 AM quake or smaller aftershocks that followed but it did rattle and roll enough for a few people to get out of bed — or, at least, roll over, grab their phones, and update social media.
Yep, #seattleearthquake just woke me up, whole building shook here in Capitol Hill…
— Maggie Olson (@maggiej_5) July 12, 2019
USGS Community Internet Intensity Map
The US Geological Survey’s mapping of reports from around the area showed that the quake was felts as far away as Olympia.
KIRO reports the quake is the largest to hit the region since the 6.8 M 2001 Nisqually earthquake.
While Seattle is still largely unprepared for the “big one,” the city does know more about how much it would cost to retrofit its thousands of unreinforced masonry buildings. A new plan, meanwhile, will test a solar microgrid system at Capitol Hill’s Miller Community Center that is designed to give the facility greater resiliency in the event of natural disasters.
