SLC Earthquake

Camera: Apple iPhone XS
Exposure: 1/1370
Aperture: f/2.4
Focal Length: 52mm equivalent
ISO: 16

Welp, we had an earthquake this morning. In the grand scheme of things, not too bad, but a 5.7 certainly got our attention along with the dozens of aftershocks, some in the 4.6 range.  This in addition to the whole COVID-19 thing is really getting in the way of lab productivity.  We’ll get through this, but… damn.

The morning started out just fine. I had just sat down at my computer to start processing emails for the day with my coffee. One cat, Alice was on my lap, the other cat, Ellie was on the seat back behind my head.  The cats spooked and LAUNCHED out of the room, followed immediately by swaying and shaking… The biggest quake I’ve certainly felt in my life.  I remember thinking “NOT NOW!!! ESPECIALLY NOT NOW!!!”.  We ran protocol, and the shaking subsided after 10 sec or so when I could settle down enough to finish my coffee.

Not too much damage occurred, all things considered.  No damage at our home that I could find.  No damage at the lab.  The airport was shut down due to pipes leaking in the terminals, and problems with the tower.  There was some architectural damage downtown and out in Magna, but for the most part, this should be a healthy reminder that quakes could be much worse here, and we should be prepared… especially if they occur in the middle of another catastrophe, like the pandemic that we are currently experiencing.

2 Replies to “SLC Earthquake”

  1. Thanks for putting things into perspective. I agree, things could be a lot worse. I couldn’t find any damage at our house here in West Jordan but it was certainly the scariest thing I went through in a long time, not knowing if it was going to get worse. And outside of regular visits to the vet, it was probably also the most scared my cats have ever been. Hope you and yours are okay and your cats were able to calm down quickly.

    1. Glad you and family are safe.
      Yeah, our cats are still a little jumpy. Can’t blame them to be honest. A couple of the aftershocks made me a little jittery too.

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