DEVELOPING: Swarm of 100+ earthquakes rattle edge of Hanford nuclear site in Washington

Sep 26, 2024

DEVELOPING: Swarm of 100+ earthquakes rattle edge of Hanford nuclear site in Washington

Sep 26, 2024

More than 100 small earthquakes have been recorded since Saturday on the edge of the Hanford Reach National Monument, according to the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network.

The quakes were at the western edge of the monument’s McGee Ranch, the land used as a security perimeter around the nuclear reservation during the years it produced plutonium for the nation’s nuclear weapons program.

“This is a completely natural phenomenon; although this swarm happens just outside the Hanford site, is has nothing to do with the radioactive waste stored there,” according to a blog post from the seismic network, a University of Washington and University of Oregon program to monitor earthquake and volcanic activity across the Pacific Northwest.


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As of Tuesday, the seismic network put the number of earthquakes in recent days at about 100, but with some of the smallest likely missed and others not analyzed yet. On Wednesday, Doug Gibbons, a research engineer for the network, put the number at 115.

No reports of the earthquakes being felt had been reported to the network as of Wednesday morning.

That is to be expected, both because of the remote location and because the quakes were small, Gibbons said.

According to a map posted by the network, most were below a magnitude 2.0. The largest may have been a magnitude 2.9 on the north end of the swarm at 8:22 p.m. Sunday.

To be widely felt, earthquakes have to be at least about magnitude 3.5, Gibbons said.

The earthquakes were relatively shallow, he said.

Earthquakes in Western Washington may be 30 to 40 miles deep. But these were mostly around 5 miles deep.

Scientists consider them a swarm because there was no clear main shock and only a short time between events, according to a Wednesday blog post by Renate Hartog, manager of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network.

About the Author

End Time Headlines is a ministry founded, owned, and operated by Ricky Scaparo, established in 2010 to equip believers and inform discerning individuals about the “Signs and Seasons” of the times in which we live. Ricky authors original articles and curates news from mainstream sources, carefully selecting topics, verifying information, and utilizing artificial intelligence tools to ensure content is both timely and accurate. Every piece is personally reviewed and edited by Ricky to align with the ministry’s mission of providing a prophetic perspective on current events.

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