Stories by Tacoma News Tribune journalists, with AI summarization Learn how to prepare for disasters like earthquakes, volcanoes, and wildfires in Washington state with these safety tips and strategies.

Hundreds of residents in Washington state reported feeling an earthquake early Monday morning, hours after another earthquake struck about 1,200 miles to the south in the Los Angeles area.

They’re impossible to predict but inevitable in our future. Washington has a high risk of damaging earthquakes. “Washington has, second only to California, the greatest risk from earthquakes in the country,

A 4.5-magnitude earthquake struck at 5:02 a.m. Monday, March 3, in western Washington, the the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The 10-mile deep quake hit about 6.2 miles from Orcas, according to the USGS.

The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network shows the center of a 4.5 magnitude earthquake about 29 miles west of Bellingham, Wash., at 5:02 a.m. Monday, March 3, 2025. Pacific Northwest Seismic Network Courtesy to The Bellingham Herald

People can download the MyShake app in the Apple Store or Google Play. The mobile app sends an alert if the earthquake meets a magnitude threshold of 4.5 and weak shaking is expected, according to USGS. Weak shaking means the quake is felt indoors, although many people may not recognize it as an earthquake.

ORCAS, Wash. - A 4.5 magnitude earthquake shook up western Washington and parts of Canada early Monday morning. USGS says that the earthquake originated near the San Juan Islands and was around a mile deep.