Utah leaders meet to discuss plans in case of earthquake

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SALT LAKE CITY -- No powerful earthquake has occurred along the Wasatch Front for the past 150 years, but scientists say it's not a matter of if, but when.

Nearly 80 percent of Utah's population lives within 15 miles of the Wasatch Fault. Utah started serious work on statewide preparedness 30 years ago, and the planning never ends.

When preparing for an earthquake, plan on having enough supplies to get you and your family through at least the first 72 hours. -BeReadyUtah.gov

When a major earthquake rocks the Wasatch Front, federal, state and local emergency managers will gather in the Emergency Operations Center at the State Capitol to coordinate the response.

Many of those same people, including Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials, gathered in the war room Wednesday to talk about communications challenges during a major catastrophe.

**Did you know…**

![](http://media.bonnint.net/slc/1707/170714/17071445.jpg)• More than 36,000 earthquakes have occurred in the Utah region since 1962- an average of about 800 per year. • Since 1850, 16 damaging shocks of about magnitude 5.5 and larger have occurred in the Utah region. • One of the largest historical earthquakes in Utah was of magnitude 6.5 near Richfield in 1901. • In 1934 a magnitude 6.6 earthquake in Hansel Valley, seven miles north of the Great Salt Lake, actually cause the ground to rupture and split. - *BeReadyUtah.gov*

"They're talking with us about what would happen if we had the 7.0 earthquake in Utah, what kind of communications issues we might anticipate," explained Bob Carey, Utah's earthquake program director. What are the shortfalls? How does the state's plan work with federal and local agencies? Do all of the partners know their responsibilities?

Carey and FEMA Executive Officer Pete Bakersky have worked together on earthquake preparedness together for about two decades. They have a good idea what will happen when a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hits the Wasatch Front.

The two have pre-scripted, or pre-planned, the extent of the damage, how all agencies will respond and what challenges they'll face.

This map illustrates the ground shaking that could occur if a moment magnitude ( ) 7.0 earthquake were to rupture the Salt Lake City segment of the Wasatch fault. The intent of illustrating the strong ground shaking from such a scenario is to indicate that the severity of ground motions could be very strong and very damaging within the map area. (Click here to make larger)

"We keep planning based upon the changing environment," Bakersky said. "As far as Utah's planning, it's been excellent."

The earthquake retrofitting of the State Capitol is probably the most prominent example of how Utah has braced for the likelihood of a quake. Base isolators inside act as shock absorbers for the building.

The Utah Seismic Safety Commission keeps a comprehensive, long-term strategic plan to respond to a major quake.

"As far as the planning goes, this is an ongoing evolutionary process. We'll be just fine," Carey said.

One of the main objectives of the meeting this week is to make plans for a major regional earthquake drill for 2012. It will be the largest effort yet to update comprehensive plans for a major quake.

E-mail: jboal@ksl.com