Semi-OT. 5.7 Magnitude earthquake in SLC UT, with aftershocks... minor damage, a few power outages
tj_1ca9500b
Posts: 2,057
Hey y'all!
So, around 7 AM this morning, Daz time, a 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit the Salt Lake valley, centered a few miles northwest of Daz HQ.
There have been multiple aftershocks since the initial event, in the 3 to 4 magnitude range. For the most part, not a lot of damage, but there have been a few power outages reported. This was a deep earthquake, so it's been more of a 'rolling' event. Mostly a few bookshelfs falling over and such, but some older buildings have had a few bricks fall off and such.
In any case, just sharing this so that you are aware that the Daz team in SLC may be a little jittery today. It's mostly 'business as usual' with a few aftershocks interjected as the morning continues in the Salt Lake Valley. KUTV news was live when the initial quake hit, and they've been doing a lot of live coverage since then.
Update: So there are 64,000 households without power at the moment, mostly in the Magna area to the west of downtown Salt Lake, and due to a water line rupture near the SLC airport, the airport is currently closed. Most people are staying at home today due to the Coronavirus of course. The last time that Utah felt an earthquake around this level of magnitude was in 1992 in Southern Utah, so this is a somewhat unusual event. The Wasatch front mountain range is formed along a pretty significant faultline of course, and this earthquake was centered on a 'splinter' fault that travels to the west of the main fault.
So, mainly, people are rattled a bit, but buildings have been built to withstand this level of shaking in almost all cases, and the utilities are working for the most part, and the local transit authority is inspecting their tracks and such, and in some areas waiting for power to be restored so that transit trains can resume service.
Daz 3D is part of 
Connect
DAZ Productions, Inc.
7533 S Center View Ct #4664
West Jordan, UT 84084
Licensing Agreement | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | EULA
© 2025 Daz Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Comments
Do you think it might be connected with fracking in any way?
Thanks for the Heads Up. Because of the Coronavirus DAZ3D has already announced a work at Home policy; so mybe there won't be much impact
https://blog.daz3d.com/
Probably not. However, here is a huge water aquifer underneath the cities and such along the Wasatch front, which has been drawn down significantly over the years, but there are areas where they divert some of the surface runoff into the aquifer to help charge it a bit.
So subsidence due to lower water levels in the aquifer would be a more likely culprit. Subsidence from the drawdown of water aquifers is a much larger issue in Southern Utah.
Most of the oil drilling in Utah happens a fair distance away from Salt Lake. There are 'tar sand' oil deposits near/underneath Salt Lake, but due to the added expense required to free the oil from the tar sands, they remain mostly undeveloped for now.
More significantly, the Great Salt Lake is at fairly low levels these days. Not quite record lows at the moment, and it's gained a couple of feet over the last couple of years, but a lot of the water that used to feed the lake has been diverted to residential use and such. The Wasatch Front population level has boomed over the last several decades, so less water makes it to the lake these days.
The fact that the mountains next to Salt Lake are still 'in motion' due to the fault and continental plate movement and such, well Utah residents have been mindful of the potential for a huge earthquake, say in the 7 to 8 magnitude range. So as the faultine is active, albiet moving slowly, well stress does build up on the main and splinter faults in the area over time.
According to the USGS, here is the long term earthquake hazard map for the US. Red is bad (assuming you don't like earthquakes).
Some people might be surprised at portions of the map. The rest of the country might not know that St. Louis, MO and Charleston, SC are expecting big earthquakes, but that is common knowledge in those regions. The regions from Memphis to St Louis even have regular drills for the "Great Shakeout" of the New Madrid fault. https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-are-great-shakeout-earthquake-drills?qt-news_science_products=0#qt-news_science_products
Utah is still geologically active. Earthquakes are natural. Long time residents know it. Thoughts and prayers to everyone dealing with Utah earthquake, especially at this time. I understand many people lost pwer. Just because it is natural doesn't mean it doesn't suck.
What's up with that one tiny blob in Oklahoma... it's like all the tectonic activity is focused on one guy's house...
Well, I hope everyone inDAZ Land is okay.
And that one Oklahoma guy has a sidekick in Lima, Ohio.
I believe the west-east line running through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, South Carolina is mid-plate tension, as opposed to a plate boundary like the West coast or a hot spot like Hawaii or Yellowstone. The New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-1812 were very intense, but because the population was relatively few, they are not remembered as much as something like San Francisco.
http://www.new-madrid.mo.us/102/Earthquakes-of-1811-1812
5.7 Earthquake in Salt Lake City! Hope everyone at Daz is OK!
https://apple.news/AUh0taHD8RviCjSUNUpq8MA
Those are likely dormant volcanos.
more here: https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/392881/semi-ot-5-7-magnitude-earthquake-in-slc-ut-with-aftershocks-minor-damage-a-few-power-outages#latest
I'm old enough to remember the great Stoke on Trent earthquake. It was no where near as impressive as the one in Utah but it was still somewhat disconcerting to feel the earth shake underneath my feet. These sort of things don't normally happen in North-west England!
Cheers,
Alex.
I've been through more Florida hurricanes than any northerner need experience, and several Florida OMG the whole state is burning, situations. And a couple of tiny Earth tremors in various states, but never an actual OMG the ground is shaking and I've fallen down and can't get up, situation. Decided long ago that living where disaster comes with zero warning is not for me. I want time to pre-panic.
So, I was never caught California dreaming.
Threads merged
That is literally my Dads house, LOL
Sucks for the people in UT affected by this. Having to deal with this and the virus.
Aye I felt somewaht the same about our Welsh earthquake (4.4 on the richter scale) and my cats were terrified. 2 great impressions of Squirrels, one meowing to me for comfort anf one hiding under the sofa.
There's an interactive map on this page that has been tracking the aftershocks.
https://kutv.com/news/local/strong-earthquake-strikes-northern-utah
looks like the initial quake was centered between I-80 and the 201 expressway, to the west of 7200 west, at 7:09 AM, just to the north of the Central Valley Landfill (for those of you that may be familiar with the area). As you can see on the interactive map, there have been numerous aftershocks since the initial event, most of which have been very mild.
So this would put the epicenter almost due west of Daz HQ, just a little to the south. I'm posting this followup mainly for accuracy purposes, as I had previously mentioned it being 'a few miles to the northwest' in my OP. Nothing new to report. SLC airport has now resumed operations, having surveyed the facility for damage and also having removed any new FOD from the taxiways and such.
No fatalities have been reported so far, which is welcome news.
...well, Oklahoma, as well as parts of Northeastern Texas Arkansas and Missouri are all in what is known as the New Madrid seismic zone which is a network of faults that stretch form there into the Ohio Valley. This is an area where a lot of fracking goes on, and some believe it has woken faults in the region up. The last time the main fault precipitated a quake (1811) it was the strongest ever in the history of the nation and was felt as far north as Chicago and Milwaukee (which at the time were primarily trading posts and forts then). Should it reawaken, the devastation would be widespread even compared to the west coast as very few buildings in the region, even new ones, do not comply with seismic codes or have been retrofitted.
Here in Portland they routinely survey buildings and if any doesn't meet with the current seismic code it gets a large red placard with a "U" on it meaning it is potentially "unsafe" in a moderate to major quake.. Yeah, we keep hearing about our "big one" which would be produced by a major subduction fault about 70 miles offshore. The last time the fault triggered an event was 1700 which devastated the coastal region and produced a tsunami that was recorded in Japan. Based on geological and historical data, it is expected that the next quake will be between 8.9 and 9,3 magnitude and the initial shock will be a long one.
The quake on the east coast of the U.S. a few years back was very disturbing. My poor cats hid under the bed for two days. Was the damndest thing I ever went thru, until this virus outbreak, which tops it.
I live in Washington state so earthquakes are a thing here. So are volcanos, sometimes earthquakes start the ball rolling on volcanic activity. Heck it is all interconnected. Good luck and stay safe.
Im going to have beachfront property before too long. $$$
I too hope the Daz staff are okay.
Since moving to central Arkansas, I have heard a lot about the New Madrid Fault and the 1811 earthquake.
Fun fact: The fault, & the town that gave it the name, are pronounced New Mad Rid. (I don't know whose idea that was, but it sure wasn't mine.)