Today, our director, Keith Koper, sat down to talk about this morning’s M4.2 earthquake. He shares why we consider this an aftershock, why we consider this to be normal, why aftershocks occur, why this event may have felt different than Tuesday’s M4.2
Month: April 2020
M4.2 Aftershock, near Magna UT
PRESS RELEASE
University of Utah Seismograph Stations
Released: April 14, 2020 10:15 PM MDT
The University of Utah Seismograph Stations reports that a light earthquake of magnitude 4.2 occurred at 08:56 PM on April 14, 2020 (MDT). The epicenter of the shock was located in the northwestern part of the Salt Lake Valley, 3.3 mi NE of Magna, UT. This earthquake was an aftershock of the magnitude 5.7 earthquake that occurred in the same area on March 18, and was the largest aftershock to occur since the day of the magnitude 5.7 mainshock. Today’s aftershock was widely felt in the Wasatch Front region of Utah, especially in the Salt Lake Valley. To date, the University of Utah Seismograph Stations has located 1,247 aftershocks from the March 18 earthquake, including four others of magnitude 4.0 or larger (all on March 18) and 39 of magnitude 3.0 and larger. The aftershock activity is expected to continue for at least several more weeks, but with the rate continuing to decrease with time.
Anyone who felt the earthquake is encouraged to fill out a survey form on the US Geological Survey website: earthquake.usgs.gov.
Earthquake Summary:
Date (UTC): April 15, 2020 Time (UTC): 02:56
Date (local): April 14, 2020 Time (local): 08:56 PM MDT
Latitude: 40 43.92′ N
Longitude: 112 3.54′ W
Preferred magnitude: 4.2 Ml