Magnitude 3.2 Quake Rattles Oregon Coast

The USGS says some Salem-Keizer area residents felt the morning quake

Courtesy: USGS

(Newport) - A minor earthquake rattled the central Oregon coast on Saturday, getting the attention of coastal residents as well as valley residents throughout much of Western Oregon.

The quake was felt from Seaside to Newport, and inland to parts of the Willamette Valley including Marion, Polk, Yamhill, Benton, and Linn counties.

Experts at the U.S. Geological Service say the earthquake happened Saturday morning just after 9:30 AM.

The USGS says the 3.2 magnitude quake was centered northeast of Newport near the town of Siletz in east Lincoln County, a few miles north of Toledo.

The depth was estimated at about 27 miles. This is not an intense reading when compared with quakes around the world that cause injury, death and destruction.

Lincoln County emergency mangers said they took a few calls about the quake.

Last year, Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney introduced bills to make the state safer and better prepared for earthquakes, particularly when regarding schools, `As Oregonians, we face the very real threat of a severe earthquake just off our coast, like the earthquake and tsunami that hit Indian Ocean nations last December,"

Courtney`s bills, approved by the state legislature, create a grant program for local communities to strengthen their most vulnerable schools and emergency service buildings.

Emergency managers in places as far away from the coast as Benton and Polk Counties said they also had some reports about the quake.

No injuries or damage from the quake were reported.