Quake Strongest In 15 Years

Sat., May 4, 1996

From Staff And Wire Reports

The strongest earthquake to hit Washington state in 15 years bruised one person’s arm, knocked some items off store shelves and suspended a baseball game.

Lucky this time, a seismologist said.

The quake struck at 9:04 p.m. and was centered near Duvall about 20 miles northeast of Seattle. The shaking, which lasted as long as 30 seconds, was felt as far away as Richland, 180 miles to the southeast and across the Cascade Range.

The quake’s magnitude was measured at 5.4 by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo., and 5.3 by the University of Washington Geophysics Center in Seattle.

Power was briefly knocked out in some outlying areas. In Duvall, volunteer firefighter Laura Genth fell at home during the quake and injured her arm. It was initially believed to have been broken, but was only badly bruised.

UW seismologist Steve Malone said about 60 aftershocks had been recorded by late Friday morning, with the largest about 3.2. More shocks can be expected in the next few days, but none as strong as the initial quake, he said.

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