Small quake recorded Sunday 270 miles west of Yachats

By The Oregonian/OregonLive

A magnitude 4.0 earthquake was recorded off Oregon’s coast Sunday morning, the United States Geological Survey reported, about 270 miles west of Yachats.

Only three people so far have filled out the USGS’s “Felt Report” survey.

The Oregonian/OregonLive’s Real-Time Earthquake Map, which is updated every 15 minutes, shows how commonplace such small quakes are in the region.

Another 4.0 quake rumbled about 132 miles west of Coos Bay on March 26, for example. On March 17, a 4.3 quake was recorded in the same general area in the Pacific Ocean. Those quakes also caused no damage or warnings.

Which isn’t to say there’s no reason to be prepared. Experts believe there’s about a 40% chance a large quake — up to magnitude 9.0 — from the Cascadia subduction zone will hit sometime in the next 50 years. January marked the 323rd anniversary of the last major quake along the 600-mile fault off the Pacific Northwest coast.