2001 Nisqually earthquake - Misplaced Pages

(Redirected from Nisqually Earthquake) Severe earthquake in Washington, US

2001 Nisqually earthquake
A stretch of Washington State Route 302 near Allyn, Washington, damaged after the earthquake
OlympiaSeattle
UTC time	2001-02-28 18:54:32
ISC event	1780664
USGS-ANSS	ComCat
Local date	February 28, 2001 (2001-02-28)
Local time	10:54:32 a.m.
Magnitude	6.8 M_w
Depth	57 km (35 mi)
Epicenter	47°11′N 122°40′W / 47.19°N 122.66°W / 47.19; -122.66
Type	Normal
Areas affected	Pacific Northwest
Total damage	$1–4 billion
Max. intensity	MMI VIII (Severe)
Peak acceleration	0.3 g
Tsunami	No
Casualties	1 dead (heart attack), 400 injured

The 2001 Nisqually earthquake occurred at 10:54:32 local time on February 28, 2001, and lasted nearly a minute. The intraslab earthquake had a moment magnitude of 6.8 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). The epicenter was in the southern Puget Sound, northeast of Olympia, but the shock was felt in Oregon, British Columbia, eastern Washington, and Idaho. This was the most recent of several large earthquakes that occurred in the Puget Sound region over a 52-year period and caused property damage valued at $1–4 billion. One person died of a heart attack and several hundred were injured.

Tectonic setting

The Puget Sound area is prone to deep earthquakes due to the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate's subduction under the North American plate at 3.5 to 4.5 cm a year as part of the Cascadia subduction zone. Three types of earthquake are observed in the area: rare megathrust events, such as the 1700 Cascadia earthquake, shallow events within the North American plate and deeper intraslab events within the Juan de Fuca plate as it sinks into the mantle. The third type of earthquake is the one that has led to the greatest amount of damage. Significant intraslab earthquakes occurred in the same general region on April 29, 1965 (magnitude 6.7, depth 59 km (37 mi)), and April 13, 1949 (magnitude 6.7, depth 50 km (31 mi)).

Earthquake

The earthquake was an intraslab event within the Juan de Fuca plate. It was a result of normal faulting within the descending slab, but it has not been possible to determine which of the two possible fault planes indicated by the focal mechanism is correct.

Damage

Although there were no directly related deaths, local news outlets reported that there was one death from a heart attack. About 400 people were injured. Most of the property damage occurred very near the epicenter or in unreinforced concrete or masonry buildings, such as those in the First Hill, Pioneer Square, and SoDo neighborhoods of Seattle. The Trinity Parish Church on First Hill was severely damaged. The air traffic control tower at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport was heavily damaged; it has since been replaced with a more earthquake-resistant tower. The quake splintered a buttress under the dome of the capitol building in Olympia, but previous earthquake-resistance work prevented more serious harm to the building. Additionally, power outages affected downtown Seattle. The U.S. Military's Ft. Lewis and McChord Air Force Base received damage and there was very slight damage in Victoria, British Columbia.

Following the quake, many buildings and structures in the area were closed temporarily for inspection. This included several bridges, all state offices in Olympia, and Boeing's factories in the Seattle area. Various schools in the state also closed for the day. The Fourth Avenue Bridge in downtown Olympia was heavily damaged and was later torn down and re-built. In Seattle, the Alaskan Way Viaduct and its seawall were damaged, forcing the viaduct to close for emergency repairs and ultimately factoring into the decision to replace the viaduct with the SR 99 Tunnel and an expanded Alaskan Way on the footprint of the old viaduct. The new tunnel is designed to withstand a 9.0 M_W earthquake.

Approximately $305 million of insured losses and a total of $2 billion worth of damage was caused in the state of Washington. The area was declared a natural disaster area by president George W. Bush and was therefore able to receive federal recovery assistance. The number of businesses in the heavily affected region was relatively small. At least 20% of businesses surrounding the heavily affected area took direct losses, while 2% had direct losses of over $10,000. None of these businesses received money for direct damage from federal aid or insurance.

Many businesses did not receive any aid at all. Those that did receive aid had no help with indirect losses. Indirect losses varied from inventory or data corruption, disruption in the workplace, productivity, etc. Data and inventory losses were possibly the most damaging, especially for retail stores. Retail stores lost inventory as well as people's interest for a period of time after the quake. One of the vital elements to prevent damage and injury were well structured buildings. This can prevent the loss of life as well as inventory. Businesses that did not sustain very much damage also gained a sense of security that may be unreliable as the moment magnitude was high but the hypocenter was deep under the earth. This earthquake was a 6.8 moment magnitude that caused $2 billion damage while the Northridge earthquake was a 6.7 moment magnitude, but caused more than $20 billion worth of damage as the hypocenter of the Northridge earthquake was much shallower and closer to the surface of the earth.

Ground effects

Named after the Nisqually Delta, this earthquake hit the southern end of Puget Sound causing damage to the ports of Seattle and Tacoma. In the month following the earthquake, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the USGS assembled a team to map the bathymetry of the deltas near the epicenter. This revealed multiple submarine failures on the Puyallup and Duwamish delta fronts. In other areas liquefaction, sand boils, landslides, and soil slumping occurred. Liquefaction was also determined to be a main contributor to increased stream flows. With multiple stream gauges collecting data before and after the earthquake there was a regular pattern of higher increased stream flow around areas where liquefaction occurred. Soil liquefaction was also observed at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge causing damage to the buildings within.

Response

A rapid response plan was developed a year later. The region realized how it had avoided a potentially extremely damaging catastrophe. Many businesses, organizations, and hospitals were asked to sign a regional disaster plan, allowing disaster relief teams to locate and aid places much faster than before. The regional plan would also facilitate directing limited resources to places with greatest immediate need.

References

^ ISC (2015), ISC-GEM Global Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue (1900–2009), Version 2.0, International Seismological Centre
^ Ichinose, G.A.; Thio, H.K.; Somerville, P.G. (2004). "Rupture process and near‐source shaking of the 1965 Seattle‐Tacoma and 2001 Nisqually, intraslab earthquakes". Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 31 (10): n/a. Bibcode:2004GeoRL..3110604I. doi:10.1029/2004GL019668.
^ PAGER-CAT Earthquake Catalog, Version 2008_06.1, United States Geological Survey, September 4, 2009, archived from the original on March 13, 2020
^ "M6.8 – Puget Sound region, Washington". United States Geological Survey.
McNair-Huff, Rob & Natalie (2016). Washington Disasters. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 163. ISBN 978-1-4930-1322-7.
^ McDonough, P. W., ed. (2002), The Nisqually, Washington, Earthquake of February 28, 2001, Open-File Report 2002-346, American Society of Civil Engineers, pp. 28, 29, ISBN 978-0-7844-7516-4
^ Bustin, A; Hyndman, R.D.; Lambert, A.; Ristau, J.; He, J.; Dragert, H.; Vand der Kooij, M. (2004). "Fault Parameters of the Nisqually Earthquake Determined from Moment Tensor Solutions and the Surface Deformation from GPS and InSAR". Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. 94 (2): 363–376. Bibcode:2004BuSSA..94..363B. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.1004.9133. doi:10.1785/0120030073.
^ "A Comparison of the February 28, 2001, Nisqually, Washington, and January 17, 1994, Northridge, California Earthquakes". Southern California Earthquake Center.
Highland, Lynn M. (2002). An Account of Preliminary Landslide Damage and Losses Resulting from the February 28, 2001, Nisqually, Washington, Earthquake. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved August 15, 2009.
David Postman (March 5, 2001). "Capitol did 'remarkably well'". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
Linn, Allison (February 28, 2001). "Bill Gates speech interrupted by quake". Associated Press. Retrieved March 30, 2007.
Earthquakes Canada – Report (2001-02-28). Accessed January 23, 2009.
"Fourth Avenue bridge: Bridge over rubbled water". The Olympian. 2002. Archived from the original on November 3, 2001. Retrieved July 30, 2008.
"Quake Capsules-Fourth Avenue Bridge". The Olympian. September 2, 2001. Archived from the original on November 21, 2001. Retrieved July 30, 2008.
"About the Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall". WSDOT. Archived from the original on August 29, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
"Tunneling into the numbers" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. May 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 4, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
^ Meszaros, J.; Fiegener, M. (2002), Effects of the 2001 Nisqually Earthquake on Small Businesses in Washington State (PDF), United States Department of Commerce, archived from the original (PDF) on May 14, 2015, retrieved April 1, 2014
"Resilient Washington State" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 7, 2014. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
^ Nisqually Basin Bibliography: Science, Resource Management, Land Use, and Public Policy.
Montgomery, D. R.; Greenberg, H. M.; Smith, D. T. (2003), "Streamflow response to the Nisqually earthquake", Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 209 (1–2): 19–28, Bibcode:2003E&PSL.209...19M, doi:10.1016/S0012-821X(03)00074-8
USFWS (2001), Earthquake Rattles Nisqually Refuge (PDF), United States Fish and Wildlife Service, p. 5
"On Nisqually Quake anniversary, region set to adopt rapid response pact; County repairs damage". Archived from the original on January 24, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2014.

External links

M 6.8 – Puget Sound region, Washington from the USGS
15 years after the Nisqually Earthquake, King County prepares for "the big one" – King County, Washington
Special Coverage: Ash Wednesday Quake – Seattle Weekly
The International Seismological Centre has a bibliography and/or authoritative data for this event.

v t e ← Earthquakes in 2001 →
January	1st El Salvador (7.6, Jan 13) † Gujarat (7.9, Jan 26) † ‡
February	2nd El Salvador(6.6, Feb 13) † Nisqually (6.8, Feb 28)
March	Geiyo (6.7, March 24)
June	Peru (8.4, Jun 23) †
November	Kunlun (7.8, Nov 14)
† indicates earthquake resulting in at least 30 deaths ‡ indicates the deadliest earthquake of the year

v t e Earthquakes in the United States
Historical	1585 Aleutian Islands 1638 New Hampshire 1663 Charlevoix 1700 Cascadia 1755 Cape Ann 1783 New Jersey 1811–12 New Madrid 1812 San Juan Capistrano 1812 Santa Barbara 1838 San Andreas 1857 Fort Tejon 1865 Memphis 1867 Manhattan, Kansas 1868 Hawaii 1868 Hayward 1870 Charlevoix 1871 Lānaʻi 1872 Owens Valley 1872 North Cascades 1882 Fort Collins 1886 Charleston 1887 Sonora 1892 Laguna Salada 1892 Vacaville–Winters 1895 Charleston 1898 Mare Island 1899 San Jacinto
20th century	1901 Richfield 1906 San Francisco 1906 Aleutian Islands 1909 Wabash River 1914 Reno 1915 Imperial Valley 1915 Pleasant Valley 1916 Irondale 1918 San Jacinto 1921 Sevier Valley 1925 Montana 1925 Santa Barbara 1927 Lompoc 1931 Valentine 1932 Eureka 1932 Cedar Mountain 1933 Long Beach 1934 Hansel Valley 1935 Helena 1936 State Line 1940 El Centro 1940 New Hampshire 1944 Cornwall–Massena 1946 Aleutian Islands 1947 Wisconsin 1948 Desert Hot Springs 1949 Olympia 1952 Kern County 1954 Churchill County 1957 Andreanof Islands 1957 San Francisco 1958 Huslia 1958 Lituya Bay 1959 Hebgen Lake 1962 Cache Valley 1964 Alaska 1965 Rat Islands 1965 Puget Sound 1968 Borrego Mountain 1968 Illinois 1969 Santa Rosa 1971 San Fernando 1973 Point Mugu 1975 Near Islands 1975 Morris 1975 Hawaii 1979 Coyote Lake 1979 Imperial Valley 1980 Eureka 1981 Westmorland 1983 Coalinga 1983 Borah Peak 1983 Kaoiki 1984 Morgan Hill 1986 North Palm Springs 1986 Chalfant Valley 1987 Whittier Narrows 1987 Imperial Valley 1989 Loma Prieta 1990 Upland 1991 Sierra Madre 1992 Joshua Tree 1992 Cape Mendocino 1992 Landers 1992 Big Bear 1992 St. George 1993 Scotts Mills 1993 Klamath Falls 1994 Northridge 1995 Marathon 1998 Pymatuning 1999 Hector Mine 2000 Yountville
21st century	2001 Nisqually 2002 Denali 2003 Alabama 2003 San Simeon 2006 Gulf of Mexico 2006 Kiholo Bay 2008 Illinois 2008 Chino Hills 2008 Reno 2008 Wells 2010 Eureka 2010 Baja California 2011 Colorado 2011 Virginia 2011 Oklahoma 2013 Port Alexander 2014 La Habra 2014 Aleutian Islands 2014 Southeast Alaska 2014 South Napa 2016 Oklahoma 2018 Alaska 2018 Hawaii 2018 Anchorage 2018 Southern Appalachian 2019 Ridgecrest 2020 Salt Lake City 2020 Central Idaho 2020 Monte Cristo Range 2020 Sparta 2021 Chignik 2022 Ferndale 2023 Texas 2024 New Jersey 2024 Cape Mendocino
Swarms	2001 Enola 2008 Reno 2010–11 Guy–Greenbrier 2012 Brawley 2009–present Oklahoma 2019 Ridgecrest

v t e Earthquakes in Washington
1700 Cascadia (8.7 – 9.2) 1872 North Cascades (6.5 – 7.0) 1946 Vancouver Island (7.3) 1949 Olympia (6.7) 1965 Puget Sound (6.7) 2001 Nisqually (6.8)

v t e Washington State bridge disasters and incidents
Complete losses	Division Street Bridge (1915) Allen Street Bridge (1923) Tacoma Narrows Bridge ("Galloping Gertie") (1940) Chow Chow Bridge (1988) I-90 Floating Bridge (1990) Fourth Avenue Bridge (Olympia) (2001)
Partial losses	Hood Canal Bridge (1979) I-5 Skagit River bridge (2013)
Incidents	West Spokane Street Bridge Chavez ramming (1978)
List of Washington state bridge failures

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