Earthquake Damage Assessments Underway, 3.4 Aftershock Hits Magna Area

MAGNA, Utah — Community members were still bracing themselves for aftershocks from a magnitude 5.7 earthquake as they began to assess the damage and start rebuilding their business and lives.

Magna and Salt Lake County leaders gathered Saturday to provide an update on their assessments of Wednesday’s quake, saying about 150 people were displaced.

They added the majority of displaced residents live in apartment homes near Magna’s Main Street.

“I don’t believe it was a large number of residential people that were displaced,” said Trent Sorenson, chief building official with the Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District. “There were a couple of apartment buildings mainly on Magna Main Street that were a concern with the old nature of the building.”

Rick Duckworth, director of the Magna Museum, said his building’s damages were minor, but others in the area didn’t have the same luck

“I got in there before they stopped us from going in. I saw all the mess that was in there, that was created from this,” he said. “A lot of the damages are the bricks on the outsides, not so much inside.”

We have located 213 earthquakes that occurred in the Magna, Utah, area from March 18 through March 20. The largest of these earthquakes was the M5.7 mainshock that occurred at 7:09am on March 18. The remaining 212 are aftershocks. There have been 26 aftershocks of M3 and larger. pic.twitter.com/hn939TFhby

— UUSS (@UUSSquake) March 20, 2020

Sorenson also said businesses that are shutdown will need to undergo further safety inspections and owners should contact him for more information.

“The red card doesn’t mean it’s condemned, it’s coming down,” Sorenson said. “All that means is there was substantial damage to the point we don’t know if that is a safe building to occupy or go into yet.”

A website has been set up for residents in Magna, Kearns, Copperton, Emigration Canyon, Brighton and other county incorporated areas to file damage reports.

Residents can also call 385-468-6723.

Sorenson said the majority of the 77 reports filed as of Saturday afternoon were for chimney damages.

Shortly before the press conference, a magnitude 3.4 aftershock, one of over 200 quakes since Wednesday’s mainshock, struck the area.

The rate of aftershocks following the M5.7 Magna earthquake on Wednesday is slowing down. However, as this morning’s M3.4 aftershock has shown, we will continue to have felt aftershocks for some time. The frequency of these felt events will decrease as time passes. 1/3

— UUSS (@UUSSquake) March 21, 2020

Following the week’s seismic activity, leaders encouraged residents to get a carbon monoxide detector and carefully inspect their homes.

“We don’t want anyone out there feeling like they can’t get help, so just let us know and we will direct to the right place to go,” said Trish Hull, Magna’s mayor pro tem.

Nearby at the Western Estates Mobile Home Park in West Valley City, displaced residents were hoping to get back on their feet and in their homes.

“It’s not only me, there’s more people, I think there’s 40 trailers,” said Maria Aparicio. “I just worry about this for right now. My kids are good, we have food, the only thing we want is answers, we want to do something for this.”

West Valley City residents can call and report structural damage at the following numbers:

• 801-963-3283 (Main Line)
• 801-963-3282
• 801-963-3291 (Español)

On Saturday, West Valley City spokesperson Roxeanne Vainuku said residents will likely have to cover the cost of repairs to their mobile homes and clear a safety inspection before they can return to their homes.

All affected residents are encouraged to contact the Red Cross at 1-800-RED-CROSS.

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