5.7 Magnitude Erthquake Hits Salt Lake City

An earthquake of 5.7 magnitude hit Utah on Wednesday morning, the US Geological Survey said that it knocked out of power and rattled residents already traumatized by the coronavirus pandemic.

About 73,000 homes and businesses has lost its electricity in the Salt Lake City Area, utility Rocky Mountain Power said, but power has since been quickly restored in some areas.

Activities at the Salt Lake City International Airport was stopped, and the control tower and concourses were evacuated, the airport tweeted. The airport was expected to reopen later that Wednesday.

The quake was so much it also shut down the light rail service of Salt Lake City and its suburbs. Residents of Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming and Nevada also reported feeling the quake.

Downtown Salt Lake City, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ iconic Salt Lake Temple sustained minor damage. The governor, Gov. Gary Herbert has cautioned the people to stay far from downtown Salt Lake City while dispatched squads checked for any further damage.

There has been no immediate reports of injuries, Utah Emergency Management spokesman Joe Dougherty said to the press.

The central point of the quake was located near Magna, Utah, just southwest of Salt Lake City, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The earthquake had hit a little after 7 a.m. local time. An estimated amount of 2.76 million people likely felt the quake, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. Most residents felt their homes shaking for 10 to 15 seconds.

New father Ryan Jensen, whose baby was born Wednesday morning at Altaview Hospital in West Jordan, Utah, told USA TODAY through a text that the:

 "The hospital was rocking. As if being born in a pandemic wasn’t enough, man that was nerve rattling." 

This is the largest earthquake that has hit Utah since a 5.9 magnitude quake had hit the state in 1992, Utah Emergency Management said. According to U.S. Geological Survey the magnitude 5 or larger earthquakes occur at average rate of about one every 10 years and that the magnitude 6 or larger earthquakes occur about every 50 years in this area.