3.8 earthquake shakes Portland area

Officials warn of 'home-brewed' quakes

By Bill Gallagher

LocalNewsDaily.com, Aug 3, 2006, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Thousands of Portland-area residents got a rude awakening at 1:39 a.m. Thursday when an earthquake rumbled near La Center, about 12 miles north of Vancouver, Wash.

According to the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, the earthquake hit in an area with no known fault lines.

"The bottom line is that this is a reminder that Portland is threatened by 'home-brewed' earthquakes and should serve as a reminder for people to secure their homes and review their family disaster plans," said Ian Madin, chief scientist at the department.

Officials said that, although the quake's magnitude was relatively low, its tremors were felt surprisingly far away. Reports of shaking came in from 2,457 people over a 3,000-square-mile area, the department said.

"It was very widely felt, from Sandy to Longview to Forest Grove. That's a pretty big footprint for such a small quake," he said.

Clark County dispatchers reported at least 200 phone calls to 911 in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake.

On January 28, a 2.8 earthquake rumbled through East Portland, but officials said the two quakes do not share fault lines and are probably unrelated. The so-called "micro-swarm" of quakes beneath Mount Hood and the ongoing volcanic activity at Mount St. Helens are also unrelated to Thursday morning's earthquake, the department said.

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