Experts warn of possible major earthquake in Utah

(ABC4) – The nation watched helplessly as another major storm hit the Gulf Coast when Hurricane Ida made its way to the East Coast last week.

The storm, which reached Category 4 before hitting Earth on August 29, which coincidentally was the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, caused tens and tens of billions of dollars in deaths.

While last week’s storm was among the worst on record, hurricanes are nothing new to US residents residing near the Gulf.

The question arises, however, what is the greatest threat to a natural disaster in Utah?

According to experts, Utah should be more concerned about a potentially catastrophic earthquake affecting the Wasatch front.

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“What hurricanes do in the coast and along the coast is what hurricanes do in the Midwest, and that’s what earthquakes are going to do here in Mountain West,” Utah’s Get Ready program manager Wade Matthews explained to ABC4.com. “Disasters and extensive damage, including injury.”

Utah recently experienced the strength and sudden nature of the earthquake. The earthquake that rocked the state on March 18, 2020, with an epicenter near Magna, measured 5.7 on the Richter scale and was felt throughout the northern part of the state. Fortunately, no major damage was reported, but the image of Angel Moroni on top of the Salt Lake Temple standing without his distinctive horn was a lasting effect on the event.

File photo: a broken trumpet on a Moroni angel

Jaime Farrell, who works as a researcher and professor at the University of Utah seismic station, feels it was fortunate that the quake occurred just as the pandemic began. If students at one of the affected schools, such as Cyprus High School in Magna and West Lake Junior High in West Valley City, were in class, there were likely more serious injuries than the zero reported.

Farrell hopes that the Magna earthquake that occurred 18 months ago can still keep the importance of earthquake preparedness in the minds of Utahns, especially those who live along the Wasatch Front. According to both Farrell and Mathews, science shows that Utah will experience a larger earthquake.

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“The Salt Lake City section of the Wasatch Fault appears to be approaching in the time period when you would expect another major earthquake,” Farrell says, noting that the earthquake must exceed a magnitude of 6.0 to break the surface and cause significant damage.

Soil samples from trenches dug along the Wasatch Fault, which runs about 220 miles from central Utah to southern Idaho, show that the last 6.0 or 7.0 earthquake in the Salt Lake City sector occurred about 1,300 years ago, Farrell says. That would be about the same interval between other major earthquakes on the fault line, he adds.

The largest earthquake the Wasatch Fault could cause would be around 7.3, about the same size as the earthquake that struck Haiti in August, killing more than 2,000. Farrell worries that a major earthquake in the Salt Lake Valley could be devastating.

“I would expect a strength 6 or a mid-6 or a low 7 to have a significant impact on our area,” he says. “You’re not only going to have a lot of damage to buildings and old schools and hospitals, but also a lot of infrastructure, like utilities and all that kind of thing.”

A major issue in the event of a major earthquake in Utah is access to drinking water. To that end, and other safety concerns, both Farrell and Mathews say being prepared — with both necessities and knowledge of protective measures — should be a priority for Utahns.

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Matthews recommends, suggesting that Utah visit BeReadyUtah.com for more comprehensive information: “You should have your own basic supplies to go through at least your short-term recovery.” “It would be very long-term recovery in the event of a major disaster, but in the short term, you need your own disaster kit.”

An often overlooked part of preparing is an emergency fund to handle the finances of an eviction situation. Citing a report that saw many Americans not be able to ask for $400 until they were evacuated, Matthews says getting a few coins out of the disaster should also be a consideration.

While he understands the precarious nature of a potential major earthquake in Utah, Farrell says he doesn’t walk around afraid or paranoid of what could happen at any time. However, he is aware of the possibility, and says the best thing to do is to be prepared.

“The better prepared you are now, the better you are an hour after the next event,” Farrell says. “I don’t think it’s something that people need to constantly fear or worry about, but I do think it helps make people not forget about it, so they are ready.”

Be Ready The State of Utah is hosting a free informational webinar on disaster preparedness on September 16th. The recording can be found here.

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