The
2001 Nisqually earthquake (also commonly referred to as "The Ash Wednesday earthquake") occurred at on February 28. The
intraslab earthquake had a
moment magnitude of 6.8 and a maximum
Mercalli intensity of VIII (
Severe). The
epicenter was in the southern
Puget Sound, northeast of
Olympia, but the shock was felt in
Oregon, Canada, eastern Washington, and
Idaho. This was one of several large earthquakes that occurred in the Puget sound region in the prior 52 years and caused property damage valued at between one and four billion dollars. One person died of a heart attack and several hundred were injured.