A 5.7-magnitude earthquake shook Salt Lake City and its suburbs early Wednesday, sending spooked residents fleeing their homes, knocking out power for tens of thousands and closing the city’s airport.
The epicenter was just southwest of Salt Lake City, between the city’s airport and the Great Salt Lake. The temblor and its aftershocks physically and mentally rattled approximately 2.8 million people who are already hunkered down amid the coronavirus epidemic.
There were no initial reports of injuries, said Utah Emergency Management spokesman Joe Dougherty.
Operations at Salt Lake City International Airport came to a halt and the control tower and concourses were evacuated. Planes headed to Salt Lake City were diverted while officials conducted a runway inspection. Police blocked the road to the airport, allowing in only those who were picking up passengers.
No runway damage was found and most of the damage in the terminal appears caused by a broken water line, said the airport’s executive director, Bill Wyatt.
He said he expected the airport to reopen in “hours not days.”
The quake also shut down the light rail service for Salt Lake City and its suburbs.
Residents reported feeling shaking across a 100-mile (160 kilometer) area, with the heaviest impact in Salt Lake County, officials said.
Some residents ran from their homes and into the streets as they felt the earthquake shake buildings for 10 to 15 seconds.
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