Utah was hit by a 4.7 magnitude earthquake just before 8 a.m. Thursday.
The earthquake’s epicenter was about 6 miles south of the Wyoming state, and a few miles west of State Route 150, said Keith Koper, the director of the University of Utah Seismograph Stations.
You can report if you felt the quake on the U.S. Geological Survey’s website.
According to that website, people felt the earthquake as far north as Richmond and as far south as Provo.
In Reddit’s r/Utah subreddit community, some said the shaking was strong enough to wake them up, while others thought it was a nearby train rumbling or cats moving their dresser.
By mid-morning, Koper said instruments had recorded at least six aftershocks from the earthquake.
Throughout the day Thursday, there was a chance that people along the Wasatch Front might feel aftershocks, he added, and in the coming days, there’s a 1-2% chance that Thursday’s earthquake could indicate a larger earthquake to follow.
When a 5.7 magnitude earthquake struck Magna in March 2020, Koper said the area experienced aftershocks for several years.
He found Thursday’s earthquake particularly interesting because it happened “in a really unusual place,” miles east of the Wasatch’s main fault zone.
“For us, it’s sort of like a puzzle,” Koper said. “Why exactly did this earthquake happen where it did? … What can we learn about the faults in this area?”
It was in such an unusual place that some of the seismometers closest to its epicenter were almost removed after state budget cuts, Koper said.
Without those seismometers, researchers would have been more limited in studying the epicenter’s relationship with more hazardous fault lines in Utah, Koper added.
He did not specify which cuts led the program to weigh removing those seismometers.
“We hope that the Legislature in this session would not add further cuts to our program,” Koper said. “As a state seismologist, I need to advocate that what we’re doing is public safety.”
Currently, the program is “entering an era of austerity,” Koper said, adding they continue to consider closing stations.
Koper said Thursday’s earthquake likely caused little to no damage.
Still, he added, people in Utah should generally be prepared for quakes by strapping their hot water heaters in place and making sure nothing heavy is hanging over their beds. He also recommended people follow the steps outlined on the Utah Seismic Safety Commision’s website.
Researchers have learned that there’s a 50% chance of a significantly larger earthquake in the Intermountain West within the next 50 years, Koper said.
“Those are the ones we’re super worried about,” Koper said. “That’s why we have the seismic network.”
Studying earthquakes, like Thursday’s tremor and the 2020 Magna quake, allow researchers to know better when Utah can expect a major earthquake, he said.
