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Getting the day off to a shaky start in Portland, this March 25th – At 5:34 a.m., one of the stronger earthquakes to hit the area in years jolted residents from Salem to Portland awake, shaking homes, rattling windows, and seriously damaging several structures throughout the area. Damage estimates reached about $28 million in 1993 dollars.
While no one died as a result of the shaking, and only a few were injured, it was reminder that all those warnings from geologists about the eventual “Big One” coming along some day weren’t just scare tactics.
As reported in The Oregonian the next morning:
”This is not a unique event, it is not a surprise,” said Ian P. Madin, a seismic hazard specialist with the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. ”It reminds us that we have to get ready. And we should take that message to heart.”
While the Spring Break Quake – known officially as the Scotts Mills earthquake – registered just 5.6 on the Richter scale, no one slept through it. It shook the ground for 45 seconds, was felt as far north as Seattle, as far south as Roseburg and was rated later as “very strong” on the Mercalli Intensity Scale.
Since the Spring Break Quake, geologists and seismologists have been diligent about trying to increase earthquake awareness in the area. They regularly issue news releases and warnings about the importance of being ready for such an event because research shows the region could suffer a “megaquake” of the type that hit the region on Jan. 26, 1700, at any time.
Meanwhile, A cab driver believed to have organized the World Trade Center bombing was flown back to the United States from Egypt on Wednesday to face charges. Mahmoud Abouhalima 33, described by a federal investigator as someone on the style of a consultant arrived at Stewart International Airport in Newburgh and was taken by police motorcade to FBI offices in Manhattan. He was to be arraigned later on in the day. Abouhalima had lies to radical Islamic Sheik Omar Abdel – Rahman. as three others arrested in the case are believed to have, said the investigator, who spoke on condition of anonymity The motive remains unknown for the Feb 26 blast, which killed six and injured more than 1.000.
And Denny’s restaurant chain, a mainstay of 24-hour burgers and steak-and-eggs in roadside dining was hit with a major lawsuit Wednesday accusing it of discrimination against black customers in California. In a parallel probe the US Department of Justice said Wednesday it had substantiated allegations of discrimination against blacks by Denny’s. The department said it was close to reaching an agreement with the chain and expected to file for approval later on in the week in San Francisco federal court. Coleman Sullivan an attorney for Denny’s said the Justice Department probe only involved California restaurants.
And along with aftershocks rocking Portland, that’s just a small slice of what happened, this March 25, 1993.
