Bogus earthquake report: Not to worry

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Ashli Blow

Ashli Blow Jan 12, 2018

Jan 12, 2018

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                <h1>Bogus earthquake report: Not to worry</h1>
                <h2><p>A report from a New York-based news site claiming that the seafloor of the Pacific Northwest dropped this past weekend, potentially triggering an earthquake, has been debunked by scientists, The Seattle Times reports.

Paul Whitmore, director of the National Tsunami Warning Center, said the seafloor did not actually move at</p></h2>
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               <p>By <a href="/author/ashli-blow/">Ashli Blow</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Jan 12, 2018</time></p>
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            <p>A <a href="https://www.superstation95.com/index.php/world/779?ref=dev.cascadepbs.org">report</a> from a New York-based news site claiming that the seafloor of the Pacific Northwest dropped this past weekend, potentially triggering an earthquake, has been debunked by scientists, <a href="http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/science/nw-megaquake-imminent-report-is-bogus-scientists-say/?ref=dev.cascadepbs.org">The Seattle Times reports.</a></p><p>Paul Whitmore, director of the <a href="http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/?ref=dev.cascadepbs.org">National Tsunami Warning Center</a>, said the seafloor did not actually move at all. A tsunami warning buoy went into alert mode on Saturday, leading to the news site’s coverage, but the alert was triggered by wind-generated waves, nothing seismic. Ever since the publication of <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/20/the-really-big-one?ref=dev.cascadepbs.org">a certain article in The New Yorker</a> this past summer, folks in the Pacific Northwest have been shaken up about the potential of a “megaquake” wiping out our beloved region.</p><p>At last check, <a href="https://www.superstation95.com/?ref=dev.cascadepbs.org">SuperStation 95</a>, the news site that published last weekend's report, had edited their article, but only to refute reports from Oregon media questioning the supposed seismic activity.</p>
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A report from a New York-based news site claiming that the seafloor of the Pacific Northwest dropped this past weekend, potentially triggering an earthquake, has been debunked by scientists, The Seattle Times reports.

Paul Whitmore, director of the National Tsunami Warning Center, said the seafloor did not actually move at all. A tsunami warning buoy went into alert mode on Saturday, leading to the news site’s coverage, but the alert was triggered by wind-generated waves, nothing seismic. Ever since the publication of a certain article in The New Yorker this past summer, folks in the Pacific Northwest have been shaken up about the potential of a “megaquake” wiping out our beloved region.

At last check, SuperStation 95, the news site that published last weekend's report, had edited their article, but only to refute reports from Oregon media questioning the supposed seismic activity.

By Ashli Blow

Ashli Blow is a Seattle-based freelance writer who talks with people — in places from urban watersheds to remote wildernesses — about the environment around them. She’s been working in journal