Many felt it, others didn’t: What we know about the 4.7 earthquake near Utah-Wyoming border

EVANSTON, Wyo. — A 4.7 magnitude earthquake jolted many of us awake Thursday morning. Its epicenter was in northeastern Utah, just outside Evanston, Wyoming. No injuries or damage were reported.

Related: No damage yet reported after 4.7 magnitude earthquake near Utah-Wyoming border

Utah State University student Finley Mcmanus said she felt it, but her roommate didn't. "My bed started moving, and pretty much that was it, and then all my roommates were texting saying they felt it or didn't," she said. "One roommate was getting ready. She didn't feel it at all. And we were in the exact same room." Alba Rodriguez Padilla, an assistant professor in Utah State University's Geosciences department, said the epicenter was close to the Bear River fault system. "I am excited with this earthquake and the aftershock sequence," Rodriguez Padilla said. "We may be able to better understand what does this fault zone look like in depth and what is happening in this very complicated part of the state?" She also said we've had at least 10 aftershocks today. She said we could expect to have them for days, even months. "When an earthquake happens, it will stress the rocks surrounding the fault that caused that earthquake, and if there are faults in those rocks, they may be brought a little bit closer to having an earthquake themselves," Rodriguez Padilla said. Some people noticed that this earthquake happened in the 7 o'clock hour of the morning, which is around the same time the 2020 magna earthquake hit. We asked the expert if there's any significance there. "Earthquakes are random," Rodriguez Padilla said. "They can happen any time of the day. In fact, there's no relationship between the two earthquakes that are happening on separate fault systems. But they are reminding us that all of Utah, not just the Wasatch Front, but all of Utah, is seismically active." Some people felt the ground really shake today, while others described more of a rolling motion. "This one is a little stronger than some other ones I felt," said USU student Austin Smith. "The rocking definitely shook me and it shook the bed a little, but nothing crazy, just a few things in my cabinet moved." We learned that how an earthquake feels depends on location. "It depends on where the earthquake started and the rocks and sediment that it traveled through to get to where you are, and it largely depends on exactly what type of sediment you yourselves are standing on," Rodriguez Padilla said. According to Rodriguez Padilla, it also depends on if someone is sitting, standing or lying down. She said this event should remind us that we are in earthquake country. We should be prepared for these. If you feel shaking, drop, cover and hold.

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