Second Earthquake Swarm Hits Off Oregon Coast On Cascadia Subduction Zone

Second earthquake swarm in one week hits off Oregon on the Cascadia Subduction Zone

A swarm of earthquakes shook the Cascadia Subduction Zone off of the Oregon coast on Sunday morning shortly after 9:00 a.m., according to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The swarm marks the second in just a 5-day span giving fair warning to coastal residents that the Big One could hit anytime.

After a string of almost a dozen minor quakes last week, the waters off the southern Oregon coast – approximately 280 miles west of Florence, Oregon – rumbled with yet another M5.3 quake on Sunday morning, at 9:10 a.m. and was followed by a series of 4 aftershocks:

M 5.3 – Off the coast of Oregon
M 3.2 – Off the coast of Oregon
M 3.0 – Off the coast of Oregon
M 3.8 – Off the coast of Oregon
M 4.4 – Off the coast of Oregon

Experts fear a mega-tsunami could be headed to the west coast in the near future as the fault is ‘overdue’ for the big one. Residents should remain vigilant.

A string of 10 quakes happened Tuesday morning, mostly about 125 miles west of Gold Beach. The largest was a 5.6 magnitude.