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A 5.7-magnitude earthquake hits Utah, cuts the power to tens of thousands, and stops flights





A 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck the Salt Lake City area on Wednesday morning, cutting tens of thousands of electricity and suspending work at a Utah public health laboratory in the midst of the Corona virus pandemic.


The airport said that flights to Salt Lake International Airport were diverted, departure was delayed, and terminals and terminals cleared so that engineers could inspect the facilities.

The US Geological Survey said the quake was centered about 10 miles west of Salt Lake City, near Magna, starting at 7:09 am (9:09 am ET).

People gathered in Salt Lake City city center after they left their buildings due to shaking and stayed outside.


This is the state's strongest earthquake since 1992, when a 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck the St. George region, Utah's emergency management department said.




The state’s Ministry of Health said that operations at the state’s public health laboratory were halted as the building was evaluated for damage.


The Ministry of Health said its laboratory was being evaluated for damage, and it would resume testing when it "proves that the building is safe."

"There were no samples being tested at the time of the earthquake," the ministry said in a media consultation posted on Twitter. "Additionally, no samples or laboratory equipment was damaged during the earthquake."

The department said that the state's commercial laboratories are operating and still processing Covid-19 tests.

Rocky Mountain Power reported that early in the afternoon, there were about 10,000 customers without power, down from 73,000 just after the earthquake.


"Please stay away from the downtown area as crews assess the damage," said Herbert. "Unless you work in public safety, or if you are a key employee, you will stay at home or work remotely."

The earthquake comes as Utah residents, like people around the world, are adapting to the changes brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, including the abolition of schools and the reduction of crowds.

"I know the last thing we need now is an earthquake, but we're here, and it looks like aftershocks are possible," Salt Lake City Mayor Iren Mindenhall said on Twitter.




The airport said on Wednesday afternoon that it would resume operations after checking for damage.

"The airport has completed the security survey and is preparing to allow passengers to pass," the airport posted on Twitter.The flights will start to arrive and depart. "

The airport said that a damaged water line in Concourse D.

The airport later said that the first flight left for Dallas before 3 pm.

"The evacuation of the airport buildings was easier" than it usually was, the airport manager Bill Wyatt told reporters.




Wyatt said that the runways and car lanes were not damaged. Wyatt said some of the planes were diverted to Denver or elsewhere.

The airport said that the road to the airport was initially closed after the earthquake, but it was reopened late Wednesday morning so that passengers could be transported.

Utah State Department of Transportation said it did not appear that the roads it was responsible for had been damaged, but that workers were checking to confirm. She said parts of Interstate 80 were temporarily closed so that inspection teams could look at bridges. Several aftershocks were recorded within 20 minutes of the main earthquake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, and dozens were subsequently recorded, including one measuring 4.6 in the afternoon. The Utah Emergency Department posted on Twitter, "There are rumors about earthquake predictability.




Unpredictable, however, we expect that the earthquake we felt today was the largest in the series. This is true in 95% of earthquakes." Cooper said his team did not expect any major earthquake.

The US Geological Survey released forecasts of aftershock. He said that there is a 1 possibility from 300 to multiply 7 in the coming days, while a 6 probability is 3%. Probability of 5 or above is a 17% chance.
Cooper advises residents who feel the ground is shaken not to run outside but find instead a blanket, like a table, to avoid the earthquake and save their lives as much as possible .

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