The quake is the strongest to hit the area in 52 years and occured 11 kilometers northeast of Olympia, very near the location of the 1949 7.1-magnitude earthquake.
Property damage is estimated to cost in the billions.
One person has died as a result of a heart attack. Newspapers have reported more than 200 people were injured, eight others seriously. Thousands were without power. Structural damage to the Capitol dome, falling bricks and mudslides were of immediate concern. All rights reserved.