GREENWATER, Wash. — A 3.7 magnitude earthquake was reported near the town of Greenwater, south of Snoqualmie Pass, on Sunday morning.

The quake happened at around 8:15 a.m. and may have been felt from Mt. Rainier National Park to Snoqualmie.

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Did you feel it? A 3.7 happened north of Mount Rainier at 8:15 Sunday morning.

— Morgan Palmer (@Morgan����Xվ7)

The latest tremor, a magnitude 3.9 quake, struck near Port Angeles on Wednesday, following a magnitude 4.5 quake near Orcas Island on Monday. These events are part of a noticeable uptick in seismic activity in the region.

Harold Tobin, Director of the and a professor at the University of Washington, said that while the increase in earthquakes is noticeable, it is not necessarily a cause for alarm.

“I would say the same thing as I said last week or early this week. Don’t worry about it,” Tobin told Charlie Harger, host of “Seattle’s Morning News” on ����Xվ Newsradio.

He acknowledged that the region has experienced about four noticeably felt earthquakes in the past couple of weeks, which is an uptick but still within the normal range of seismic activity for the area.

Are these earthquakes related?

Tobin explained that, in a broad sense, these earthquakes are all connected due to the tectonic activity in the region.

“We sit at this place where two of these giant tectonic plates grind against each other in the Earth’s crust,” he said. “In the smaller picture… they are quite different types of earthquakes,” Tobin noted.

Residents have been actively reporting their experiences with the recent quakes. The 4.5 magnitude quake near Orcas Island generated over 10,000 felt reports, while the more recent 3.9 magnitude quake, which was deeper, resulted in fewer reports.

“Different experience for people,” Tobin said, highlighting the variability in how earthquakes are felt depending on their depth and location.

The app, designed to provide early warnings for significant earthquakes, was triggered by the Orcas Island quake but not by the smaller, more recent tremor.

“For the Orcas Island quake, it did trigger the apps that alert at the 4.5 level,” Tobin explained.

The system correctly determined that the quake did not meet the threshold for a full broadcast alert, which is set at magnitude 5.

What about the “Big One?”

Looking ahead, Tobin addressed the looming question of the “Big One,” a massive earthquake that could strike the region at any time.

“We are 325 years since the last one. We know that the average time between those from geological studies is about 450 to 500 years, but with quite a range,” he said.

While the exact timing is unpredictable, Tobin emphasized the importance of preparedness.

In the shorter term, Tobin suggested that the region is more likely to experience a significant but less catastrophic quake, like the 2001 Nisqually earthquake.

“That’s very strong shaking that will really cause significant damage potentially and could cause injuries,” he said.

The Nisqually quake, which had a magnitude of 6.8, caused extensive damage but fortunately resulted in no fatalities.

Related from MyNorthwest: 4.5 earthquake strikes off Orcas Island

People reported feeling the earthquake in Auburn, Bremerton, Enumclaw, Kent, Marysville, Seattle, Renton, Tacoma, Graham, and Olympia. King County Emergency Management has asked people to whether or not they felt it to the U.S. Geological Survey, as they track the impacts of the earthquake.

Frank Lenzi, news director at ����Xվ Newsradio, said he felt the shaking for about five seconds while he was in bed reading at his home in Tacoma. “I thought it was the cat,” Lenzi said. “I thought he was scratching the mattress and shaking it.” However, the cat was several feet away in its bed.

“The doors were kind of shaking on the hinges,” said Lenzi’s wife, Maxine. “The whole bed was shaking, though. That’s when we knew it had to be something else.”

No damage was reported at Lenzi’s house, and there have been no reports of any major damage elsewhere.

PRELIM Earthquake: M3.5, 16.2 km SW from Maple Valley, WA at 2025/02/22 03:45 PST
Did You Feel It?:

— PNSN (@PNSN1)

More from MyNorthwest: Did you feel that? Emergency officials estimate 5.1 British Columbia earthquake

Updated 9:09am on 2-22-25 with details from the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network.

The collision took place just before 10:30 a.m., after the driver of the semi made a wrong turn.

There were two people in the cab of the semi when it became stuck on the tracks.

According to , both of the occupants made it out of the truck before it was struck.

The television station obtained a video of the crash.

It shows the moment of impact, when the train’s locomotive smashed into the truck sitting on the tracks.

That video has been posted online by .

An Amtrak train headed southbound struck a semi truck at this railroad crossing in Auburn. (Photo: Valley Regional Fire)

The train hit the semi at a rail crossing on 29th St. N.W. at B St. N.W.,  just east of Emerald Downs.

The Amtrak train was headed south when it struck the disabled semi.

Amtrak says there were 157 passengers on board the train. 

No one on the train reported any injuries.

As a result of the collision, all Amtrak trains running between Seattle and Tacoma were delayed, and were operating about an hour behind schedule.

Auburn police also closed the southbound lane of B St. N.W. as crews begin the cleanup of debris from the collision.

It’s unclear how the semi became stuck at the rail crossing.

At 7:45 a.m., a call came in reporting the suspicious backpack. Police evacuated the Seattle Police Department (SPD) East Precinct and apartments and businesses in a two-block radius in the area.

According to a Seattle Fire Department spokesperson, members of the SPD Bomb Squad were sent to inspect the backpack first. After they determined there were no explosives, a hazardous materials team investigated for chemicals or other dangerous substances.

They did find a white powdery substance in that backpack and it turned out to be nothing hazardous. The team on the scene was working to determine what the white powder was.

No chemicals or no explosives were found. Officials gave the “all clear” signal between 9:40 and 9:45 a.m.

“With something like this, it’s a precaution,” SPD Detective Brian Pritchard said. “In this day and age you never know, so we want to do is make sure everyone is safe.”

SPD found a white powdery substance inside a pack left outside the East precinct – not hazardous and no explosives …

— Luke Duecy (@����XվLukeD)

The SFD late Thursday morning that crews conducted multiple tests to determine the area is safe.

“We are turning the scene over to Seattle Police for them to reopen the area after our crews return to service,” the department’s online statement published just after 9:40 a.m. reads.

There were no reported injuries.

Streets around the area were also closed to traffic during the hours where the SFD was on the scene.

No suspect has been taken into custody. However, the SPD said to the department is looking for a man who may have left the backpack at the scene.

Like something out of science fiction – hazmat crews with

— Luke Duecy (@����XվLukeD)

Many neighborhood residents told ����Xվ NewsRadio they were initially shocked by the sirens and large response. However, some said they’re not surprised the incident involved the East Precinct. “If anything, that makes sense,” Megan, a local resident, said. “That sort of makes sense, if you’re going to target a precinct I could see that happening here in this precinct.”

The SPD East Precinct was the target of the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP) in 2020 amid protests that were, at times, violent over the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis. The SPD vacated and boarded up the precinct only to return days later and reclaim their building.

Contributing:

Luke Duecy is a reporter, editor and anchor at ����Xվ Newsradio. You can read more of Luke’s stories here. Follow Luke on , or email him here.

was about 173 miles west of Bandon, nearly 180 miles away from Coos Bay and about 200 miles from Newport. All three cities are situated along the Oregon coast.

The earthquake had a depth of  6.2 miles (about 10 kilometers), according to the USGS and the .

As of 5:20 p.m., Wednesday, there were to the USGS about feeling the tremor in some fashion.

The quake was initially reported as a 6.1 by the National Weather Service.

There is NO Tsunami Danger with this 6.1 earthquake off the coast of Oregon. Repeat: NO Tsunami Danger.

— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle)

No damage or injuries have been reported and no tsunami has been indicated.

Contributing: Steve Coogan

Bill Kaczaraba is a content editor at MyNorthwest.