3.9 quake hits campus

An earthquake with a revised magnitude of 3.9 shook Portland State University yesterday at 12:26 p.m.

Campus Public Safety confirmed there were no reports of damage.

According to U.S. Geological Survey reports, the epicenter of the quake was approximately 10 miles NNW of downtown Portland, near Kelley Point Park.

PSU geology professor Scott Burns said he received some differing reports of experiences from the quake, but no reports of damage.

Burns said students on higher levels of buildings experienced the quake differently than those on the ground.

“It’s one of those good earthquakes that lets people know that there are quakes, but doesn’t cause any damage,” he said.

Early reports suspected that the East Bank and Portland Hills faults were involved in the quake, but Burns said conclusive data may not be available for some time, as the precise locating of a seismic event requires a compilation of data from seismographs around the world.

PSU’s seismograph, located in the basement of Cramer Hall, was a gathering point for those students interested in quick confirmation of the slight quake.

“We had a lot of people huddled around at 12:30 p.m.,” Burns said.

Burns added that Thursday’s quake was “just a reminder to us that we live in earthquake country.”