The 6.8 magnitude Nisqually earthquake was an extensional intraplate event deep below the Puget Sound region, in the Cascadia subduction zone. It occurred in the Juan de Fuca oceanic plate, which is subducted beneath the North American plate. The hypocenter lay 30 miles beneath the Nisqually delta area, approximately 11 miles northeast of Olympia, Washington, USA. Loss of life was limited to one person, who suffered a heart attack that was attributed to earthquake trauma. Approximately 400 people were injured sufficiently to seek medical assistance. On the day of the earthquake, a state of emergency was declared. The next day, the Governor requested federal assistance and estimated the economic consequences at $2 billion. This 26-page report presents a preliminary description of the seismological back-ground, the ground motions, the responses of natural and man-made structures-buildings, bridges, and lifelines-to those ground motions, and the societal consequences.