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
TODAYÂ through a text that the:
 "The hospital was rocking. As if being born in a pandemic wasn’t enough, man that was nerve rattling."Â
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.
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