A 4.3 magnitude earthquake hit western Washington State on Sunday evening.
The quake, recorded by the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, was felt by some in the Puget Sound Region, northwest of Seattle, and just south of Port Townsend.
The US National Tsunami Warning Center said a tsunami is not expected in the aftermath of the quake.
The seismic network (PNSN) determined that the epicenter of the earthquake was just under Marrowstone Island, a small island to the southeast of Port Townsend and northwest of Seattle.
The quake, which occurred at 7.21pm PST, had a depth of 57 kilometers.
It was initially reported to have had a magnitude of 4.5 by the United States Geological Survey, but was ultimately downgraded to a 4.3.
The minor quake was felt in and around the greater Seattle, Washington area
The center of the quake was on Marrowstone Island, a small island to the southeast of Port Townsend and northwest of Seattle
There have been no reports of structural damage caused by the earthquake that was felt across northern Washington
ShakeAlert, the earthquake early warning system manned by the US Geologic Survey, accurately detected the quake, according to PNSN, but determined it was not of a large enough magnitude to notify the public via mobile alert.
There have been no reports of structural damage caused by the earthquake.
X (formerly Twitter) users who were in the vicinity of the quake shared their experiences.
In Everett, which is north of Seattle, Patty Nolan said it ‘felt like someone was walking on the roof and my stove vent was rattling. Wondered if it was an earthquake.’
One person said he thought what ended up being an earthquake was his dog hitting against his chair.
Residents of Seattle confirmed some of them had felt it as well.
As tends to be the case following minor earthquakes, some users logged on to, in good nature, over-dramatize the seriousness of the tremors.
One X user said: ‘I didn’t feel it but I did notice my roomba started acting strange. Crazy stuff.’
‘We will rebuild,’ wrote another, pointing to the notable lack of damage caused by the quake.
In just a few days on October 19, in Washington and elsewhere, the Great Shakeout drill will occur, during which people, businesses, schools, and so on, will test their earthquake preparedness skills by simulating an earthquake at 10.19am.
The last really strong earthquake to hit Washington State was the Nisqually quake of 2001 – a magnitude 6.8 quake that lasted for just 45 seconds but caused significant damage, including splitting open the ground and bringing down several buildings.