Nisqually earthquake lessons: What scientists have learned since the 2001 quake

The 2001 Nisqually earthquake was a wake-up call for disaster preparedness, but it also provided valuable lessons for scientists studying earthquakes.

The magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck about 11 miles north of Olympia on Feb. 28, 2001 at 10:54 a.m. It was more than 35 miles underground, so there are no cracks or evidence in the Nisqually Delta today that it happened.

There are three types of earthquakes Washington faces, all of which are tied to the collision of crustal plates. That’s where the Juan de Fuca plate is slowly pushed under the North American plate into the Earth’s mantle.

Just off the coast is where the first kind occurs: Great earthquakes that happen hundreds of years apart, such as magnitude 9 earthquakes out of the Cascadia Subduction Zone. https://www.king5.com/article/news/hi...