11:55 AM PST on Sunday, January 29, 2006

By kgw.com Staff and Wire Reports

UW

The quake occured at 6:01 p.m. about 1 mile southwest of downtown Portland.

PORTLAND - A magnitude 2.8 earthquake rattled the Portland area Saturday evening, but while the shaking was felt by many -- there were no reports of damage or any injuries.

The quake occured at 6:01 p.m. about 1 mile southwest of downtown Portland, said Univ. of Washington seismologist Bill Steele.

The epicenter appeared to be under or near the Morrison Bridge, according to KGW metorologist Bruce Sussman, and was located about 9 miles below the earth's surface.

Reports of feeling the quake were widespread, not only from downtown Portland but across the metro region.

"I live near the fire station on Canyon Road and distinctly felt about four seconds of shaking," Andre' Hagestedt of Raliegh Hills wrote in one of many viewer e-mails to kgw.com.

In another e-mail, Theodora Drozdowski who lives near Cedar Hills wrote: "It felt like a large bumping to the house for just a second or two. I didn't realize what it was a first."

Aside from the West Hills, numerous residents living north of epicenter said they too were jolted. Viewer e-mails from northeast Portland, Hayden Island, Vancouver and Hazell Dell all noted feeling the microquake.

Reports of feeling a jolt or two also came in from Gresham and the east county area as well as to the south in Lake Oswego.

An intensity at 2.8 is near the lower levels normally felt by humans, said geophysicist Dale Grant of the National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado. He added that while a quake of that low magnitude may be felt, "it's not going to do damage of any significance."

Nearly 17,000 earthquakes of magnitude 1 to 6 have been recorded in Oregon and Washington since 1970. Between 15 and 20 quakes a year are strong enough to be felt in the Northwest. Those are usually magnitude 3 to 4, according to the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries.