By Oregon Public Broadcasting
A 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck more than 100 miles off the southern Oregon Coast on Monday night, according to the U.S. Geological Survey and as of Tuesday afternoon at least 10 aftershocks were reported with magnitudes between 2.7 and 5.1.
The largest quake struck southwest of Port Orford just after 9 p.m. at a depth of about 8.6 miles. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports there’s no tsunami threat expected along the coast. The area where the earthquakes struck is much father west than the earth’s plates are located that make up the Cascade Subduction zone.
“Since January 2020, there have been at least 40 magnitude 5 or greater quakes off the coast of Oregon and northern California,” Sobieszczyk said in an email. “If you go back 25 years to January 2000, there have been 164 earthquakes of that magnitude in that area.”
According to the USGS aftershock forecast for the coming week in the area, there’s a less than 1% chance of aftershocks larger than magnitude 5.
“There will likely be smaller aftershocks within the next week, with up to 2 magnitude 3 or higher aftershocks,” the forecast reads. “Magnitude 3 and higher aftershocks are large enough to be felt nearby. The number of aftershocks will decrease over time, but a large aftershock can temporarily increase the number of aftershocks.”
Anyone who felt the earthquake is asked to report it using the USGS “Did you feel it?” tool. As of Tuesday morning, around 20 people had reported feeling the ground shake.
