Seattle Shakes

Street Smart Naturalist · Mar 5, 2026 · 7m

Twenty five years and five days ago, the earth shook in Seattle. Although the Big One didn’t hit that day, I doubt I will forget the seconds following 10:54 a.m. on that not-so-tranquil Wednesday, February 28, 2001. I had just picked up Audubon magazine at the University Bookstore (sadly no longer in existence) when the shaking began. It started slowly and gently, as if a large truck was passing on University Way. As the seconds seemed to stretch longer and longer, however, the shaking became a rumbling and concrete walls, bookshelves, and windows swayed and rattled.

Despite the years of…