Late-night earthquake rattles Oak Harbor
Published 1:30 am Thursday, July 2, 2026
A 3.8-magnitude earthquake centered near Oak Harbor woke many Whidbey Island residents Wednesday night.
The earthquake struck about 1.2 miles southeast of the city at 11:35 p.m. at a depth of 15.7 miles, according to the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network. A ShakeMap produced by the U.S. Geological Survey showed weak shaking in Oak Harbor and as far south as Coupeville, Greenbank and Freeland.
About 1,300 people felt the earthquake, according to the Washington Emergency Management Division.
Fire Chief Travis Anderson of the Oak Harbor Fire Department said he was unaware of any 911 dispatch or infrastructure damage spurred by the earthquake.
Plenty of Whidbey residents took to social media to share the shaking they felt.
A post in the popular public safety Facebook group Alert Whidbey 2.0 drew 278 likes and 85 comments as of Thursday morning.
Michelle Thorson, an Oak Harbor resident, commented that the earthquake “felt like a semi-truck in my house.” Amber Deitz left another comment, describing her West Beach home as shaking “pretty bad.”
According to EarthquakeTrack.com, it was the largest earthquake centered near Oak Harbor this year.
