4.7-magnitude earthquake shakes Wasatch Front

People across the Wasatch Front and northern Utah felt the effects of a 4.7 magnitude earthquake during their morning commutes Thursday.

People across the Wasatch Front and northern Utah felt the effects of a 4.7 magnitude earthquake during their morning commutes Thursday. (Tim Phillips, Alamy)


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KEY TAKEAWAYS
  • A 4.7-magnitude earthquake struck near Evanston, Wyoming at 7:49 a.m. Thursday.
  • Residents from Logan to Provo reported shaking furniture and startled pets during the quake.
  • The USGS predicts a 57% chance of a magnitude 3.0 or higher aftershock.

SALT LAKE CITY — People across the state, from Logan to Provo, likely felt the effects of an earthquake during the Thursday morning commute.

The epicenter of the 4.7-magnitude earthquake was about 25 miles south of Evanston, Wyoming, at 7:49 a.m., according to the United States Geological Survey.

People reported household items and furniture shaking, dogs barking and cats cowering.

"I was just sitting at my desk in my living room when all of a sudden I felt my house shaking and sat for a second, confused," said Madison Olsen, in West Bountiful. "Then I could see my computers and lamp start shaking. I literally stood up, getting ready to run to my kid if I had to, but thankfully it wasn't too long."

Ogden resident Sandra Droguett-Collio said she "felt the floor moving."

"I was so light," Droguett-Collio said.

Farmington resident Troy Schauerhamer said Thursday's earthquake is only the second he's experienced in Utah.

"Definitely a unique experience. Also a little unsettling, because there could be an aftershock or it could get worse," Schauerhamer said. "You are wondering to yourself if this is really an earthquake, or did something really big just fall off a shelf and shake the house?"

Talissa Meza was at work in the industrial park near the University of Utah campus when the earthquake hit.

"I was at my cubicle, my chair shook a bit and when my monitor moved, I knew it was an earthquake. It's funny because I stood up to see if anyone knew it was an earthquake, and I saw other heads up, looking confused like me," Meza said.

There were no reports of any damage caused by the earthquake as of 9:20 a.m. Thursday.

The USGS forecasts a 57% chance of a magnitude 3.0 or higher aftershock occurring in the next seven days. There's a 19% chance of an aftershock of magnitude 4.0 or higher, and a 3% chance of magnitude 5.0, according to the forecast.

This story may be updated.

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.

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Logan Stefanich, KSLLogan Stefanich
Logan Stefanich is a reporter with KSL, covering southern Utah communities, education, business and tech news.
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