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Nicole Gonzales and Andrew Adams reportingIf an earthquake hit the Salt Lake Valley with the same 6.0 magnitude as the quake that rocked Wells, Nev., in February, the effects on our local economy would be substantial.
A new study from the Division of Homeland Security estimates our homes and businesses could suffer up to $2.5 billion in damage.
As part of Earthquake Preparedness Week, the study explores how a metropolitan valley like the one we're living in could endure an earthquake like the one we saw two months ago in Wells.
That tremor caused a lot of damage, crumbled homes and businesses, especially affected the only grocery store in town called "Stewarts." Steve Miner, of Associated Foods, said, "If you take that, and you put it into a metropolitan area, and you multiply instead of a single 14,000 square foot store maybe 100 or 200 stores, then the challenge and complexity becomes much greater."
The study predicts 1,000 buildings would be destroyed and 11,000 left with extensive damage. It also estimates 16 people would die from Weber County to Salt Lake County. Bob Carey, Division of Homeland Security, said, "The talk isn't necessarily geared to scare you as much as it is to make you think about your ability to come back after an event like this."
Carol Fielding is the co-owner of Gallery 25 in Ogden. She says she doesn't think businesses in the area are prepared for an earthquake, including her business. She says, "Actually, we have a lot of inventory here, and I'm not really sure at this time whether our insurance covers earthquake protection, but it certainly is something that we better look into because it could be devastating."
And to stay safe, experts do recommend keeping emergency kits either in your home or your business to last up to two weeks. For a list of what should be in your emergency kit and tips on what to do before, during and after an earthquake, click on the related links.
E-mail: ngonzales @ksl.com
E-mail: aadams@ksl.com
