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A Whole ‘Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On!

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The latest Puget Sound Episodic Tremor and Slip (ETS) event began last week.  For many in the area, these frequent tremors caused quite a bit of concern.  But for the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN) this is an expected event that occurs every 14 months or so.

According to the PNSN, “Slow Slip episodes affecting southern British Columbia and northern Washington have been occurring every 14 months or so since at least the 1990s. The PNSN monitors the non-volcanic tremor associated with slow slip and has deployed additional seismometers from time to time to record expected tremor events to gain insight into the process and into the stresses that eventually will lead to the region’s next major earthquake.”

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The PNSN also posted about ETS the on Twitter, sharing the network’s interactive tremor map. One Twitter user responded to the PNSN’s tweet asking “should we pack our bags and run for the hills?”

The PNSN responded, reassuring there was “no need to run for the hills! ETS or Episodic Tremor and Slip is different than earthquakes. ETS lasts for many minutes to days to even weeks and generates such low level of shaking that only sensitive instruments can detect it.”

“There is no conclusive evidence that ETS events increase the likelihood of a large Cascadia Subduction Zone event,” PNSN continued in a second tweet. “There is also no evidence that ETS events decrease the likelihood. Therefore, the chances of a large event have not changed.”

Brian Terbush, the Earthquake/Volcano Program Coordinator with the Washington State Emergency Management Division, broke down the ETS fairly well on Twitter:

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