Fifteen years ago today, the Nisqually earthquake rocked Washington State

Core Topics, History, National Defense, Public Planning
Cadillac Hotel earthquake damage, 2001
On February 28th, 2001, Washington State and the Puget Sound region were rocked by one of the biggest earthquakes in the recorded history of the Pacific Northwest: the Nisqually earthquake, which struck at 10:54:32 Pacific Time. The intraslab quake had a moment magnitude of 6.8 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). This photo shows the damage the quake caused to the Cadillac Hotel in downtown Seattle. (Item 113523, Fleets and Facilities Department Imagebank Collection/Record Series 0207-01, Seattle Municipal Archives.)