Quake rattles South Sound

OLYMPIA — A minor earthquake rattled cities and towns from Tacoma to Centralia this morning but resulted in no reported injuries or damage. The quake, estimated at 4.2 on the Richter Scale by the Pacific Northwest Seismology Center at the University of Washington, shook the region about 7:51 a.m. while the region was also being swept by gusty winds. The seismology center said the quake’s epicenter was about three miles west of Mossyrock and about 35 miles southeast of Olympia. It occurred about nine miles below the surface. Ross McDowell, Lewis County Emergency Management deputy director, said the center of the quake was in a sparsely populated, mountainous area with few people and lots of trees. They had calls from people throughout the county reporting shelves and doors shaking. “My cell phone just went crazy,” McDowell said. But no one reported damage or injuries.”It was really kind of short.”