Major Aftershock Rattles Seattle Area Again Temblor Most Intense Of The 80 So Far

Sun., May 5, 1996

Associated Press

Areas north and east of the city were rattled by an earthquake Saturday morning, the biggest aftershock since an earthquake that was felt throughout much of the state.

The temblor hit at 7:38 a.m. beneath Duvall and had a preliminary magnitude of 3.6, said scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey observatory in Golden, Colo., and at the University of Washington.

“We figured we would get aftershocks up to about 4 up to two days afterward,” said Steve Malone, a seismologist at the university.

It was the most intense of more than 80 aftershocks since a quake of 5.4 Thursday night in the same area, about 20 miles northeast of Seattle, said Waverly Person, a seismologist in Golden.

Ken Croxton, a resident near the epicenter, said the aftershock was shorter and less loud than the main quake.

“It sounded like, well, not an explosion, but maybe like a boom … a sonic boom,” he told KING Television.

A quake about as strong as the one Thursday night was recorded in the same area in 1932, but it was unclear whether both were on the same fault line.

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