Is Seattle prepared for the big one?

Preparing for the next major earthquake

A 4.5 magnitude earthquake shook the San Juan Islands this morning, just days after a 3.2 quake in East King County. FOX 13's AJ Janavel speaks with experts about the region's preparedness for future seismic events.

SEATTLE - The Puget Sound area saw multiple recent earthquakes, including a 4.5 magnitude quake that rocked the San Juans Monday morning.

Just days earlier, a 3.2 magnitude earthquake shook east King County, and a 2.9 magnitude earthquake hit near Bremerton.

The recent activity comes 24 years after the Nisqually quake, which injured hundreds and caused massive damage to the Seattle area.

What they're saying:

The 6.8 magnitude earthquake remains the costliest in America over the last three decades, and while experts say things have changed for the better, there is still a lot of work to do.

"We see more earthquakes than most places in the world," said Washington state seismologist Harold Tobin.

Harold Tobin is the director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network at the University of Washington.

"We’ve made a lot of progress, for one thing, the viaduct," Tobin said.

He says we're lucky the viaduct didn't crumble two decades before, during the Nisqually quake.

"It [the Viaduct] was replaced by the tunnel, and that's a massive improvement. There's also seismic retrofitting that's taking place," Tobin said.

Unfortunately, that’s not the case for every old building in the city. According to Seattle city data, there are about 1,100 structures susceptible to earthquake damage, including schools, apartments and offices.

"While we build new buildings to increased seismic safety codes, we don’t have a code that requires the repair of older buildings," Tobin said.

Though the recent earthquakes are getting national attention, Tobin says what's happening is not uncommon.

"They are a reminder that we live in a seismically active place, and there are earthquake hazards for us, unfortunately, here in the Puget Sound area," he said.

However, Monday's earthquake near Friday Harbor was the largest in the area since 2019.

It was also the first one in Washington to register on the MyShake app, which was created in 2021. That notified people as soon as an earthquake happens.

Tobin said if you are in an earthquake, stay where you are and look for something that you can get under to protect your head and neck. Get low to the ground, drop, cover, and hold on, he added.

Tobin also told FOX 13 Seattle if you are in an earthquake, do not run outside. He said a lot of injuries happen when people are outside of structures during earthquakes due to falling debris.

The Source: Information in this story is from the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, United States Geological Survey and FOX 13 Seattle reporting.