A 5.7 magnitude earthquake shook Utah’s Salt Lake City space Wednesday morning, chopping energy to tens of 1000’s and suspending work on the state’s public well being lab amid the coronavirus pandemic, officers mentioned.
Flights to Salt Lake International Airport had been being diverted, departures had been postponed, and terminals and concourses had been evacuated as employees inspected runways, the airport and the Federal Aviation Administration mentioned.
The quake was centered about 10 miles west of Salt Lake City and close to town of Magna, beginning at 7:09 a.m. MT, the US Geological Survey mentioned.
This is the state’s strongest quake since 1992, when a magnitude 5.9 temblor struck the St. George space, Utah’s Division of Emergency Management mentioned.
Operations on the state’s public well being laboratory had been halted because the constructing is assessed for injury, the state Department of Health said. The state’s coronavirus hotline, which residents could name to request checks and search info, was down after the quake, Gov. Gary Herbert said on Twitter.
More than 47,000 clients within the space had been with out energy after the quake, Rocky Mountain Power’s web site reported.
“Please stay away from the downtown area while crews assess damage,” Herbert said. “Unless you work in public safety, or are an essential employee, remain at home or telework.”
The quake comes as Utah residents, like individuals internationally, are adjusting to modifications introduced by the coronavirus pandemic, together with canceling faculties and limiting mass gatherings.
“I know the last thing we need right now is an earthquake, but here we are, and it sounds like aftershocks are likely,” Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said on Twitter.
“The city is assessing the situation now and I’ll circle back with an update when I have it. Be safe,” Mendenhall mentioned.
Salt Lake’s airport, which was below a floor cease after the quake, mentioned a street to the airport initially was closed after the quake, however ultimately was reopened late Wednesday morning so passengers could be picked up.
The Utah Department of Transportation mentioned it did not seem that the roads it’s chargeable for had been broken, however employees had been checking to verify. Parts of Interstate 80 had been quickly closed so inspection crews might take a look at bridges, it said.
Several aftershocks had been recorded inside 20 minutes of the primary quake, in accordance with the USGS.
Generally, in Utah, earthquakes better than magnitude 5 occur as soon as each 10 years, and quakes better than magnitude 6 occur as soon as each 50 years, the USGS says.
That assertion takes under consideration instrumentation data relationship again to 1962, and historic data relationship again to the 1850s, the USGS says.
