SPOKANE, Wash. — Earthquakes are not uncommon in Washington, but many people think of them as a westside thing.
The most concerning fault line, the Cascadia Subduction Zone, runs along the west coast from Northern California up into Canada. Seismologists have long warned that the fault has the potential to cause catastrophic damage.
There is no fault like that in eastern Washington, but it does not mean this part of the state is without fault lines or lacks the potential for earthquakes.
THE QUESTION
"Is it true that there's a fault line that goes down Division Street, north and south?" - Sergio De Leon
THE SOURCES
Harold Tobin, Professor of Earth Sciences at the University of Washington and Director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network.
Chad Pritchard, Professor of Geosciences at Eastern Washington University
THE ANSWER
When it comes to questions about the existence of fault lines and the potential for earthquakes in Spokane, the answer to both is yes. However, strong damaging quakes are unlikely.
As far as the presence of a fault line near Division Street that runs north-south through the city, there is evidence of its existence.
"I know there is some evidence of some faults that have been mapped underneath and running through Spokane in a general north-to-south kind of a configuration," Tobin said.
He adds that while the risk of earthquakes – specifically strong, damaging earthquakes - isn’t nearly as great in eastern Washington as in western Washington, there have been small quakes recorded in Spokane.
Maps published in the Journal of Geophysical Research show a series of small quakes detected in Spokane near Division Street. The quakes measured between a magnitude of 1.6 and 2.2.
In 2001, a stronger, nearly 4.0 magnitude quake hit downtown Spokane. It caused bricks to fall from chimneys and rattled dishes off shelves.
"There are definitely north-south faults in our area, but none that I know of that are extremely active,” Pritchard said.
Instead, Dr. Pritchard said the more significant fault line in the Spokane area is the Latah Fault that runs along the west side of Spokane, including along Latah Creek. But, other fault lines in the region are even more significant.
"The biggest earthquakes are going to be coming from [the] Sandpoint area where you have the Lewis and Clark fault zone and down south in the Tri-Cities area, and then of course off the west coast at Cascadia," Pritchard said.
Just because fault lines have been detected in and around Spokane, at this point, Pritchard and Tobin don’t see a reason for people in eastern Washington to be overly concerned.
"Despite the fact that we have some evidence that faults exist in Spokane and that there have been some small earthquakes in Spokane, we don’t really see any evidence of something that would be concerning about the potential for a very large earthquake," Tobin said. "They can happen and take us by surprise, but really we don’t see that same hazard as in other parts of the state.”
So we can Verify, yes, several fault lines have been detected in and around Spokane, including one that runs north-to-south through town. However, there are no faults that our two experts say show potential for producing a large, damaging quake at this time.
Still, experts say it's always good to be prepared. If your water heater’s not strapped down, it’s a good idea to do that. Also, have a go bag with water, food, and supplies so you are ready if there were an earthquake.
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