3.7 quake under Whidbey Island rattles windows

SEATTLE — The University of Washington seismology lab coordinator says a 3.7 earthquake that shook awake some Whidbey Island residents is a reminder that a much bigger quake from the same zone is likely in the future. Bill Steele told KCPQ-TV the quake was located in the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate, which is slipping under the North America plate. That interface has produced quakes of magnitude 7 or 8 about every 500 years. The last one was about 300 years ago. An Island County sheriff’s dispatcher says there was no damage reported from the quake at 5:09 a.m. Wednesday. The UW seismology lab reported it was centered about two miles southeast of Coupeville at a depth of 36 miles. Steele says the depth distributed the force, so it felt weak.