Already shaken by COVID-19, USU students get hit with a 5.7 earthquake

By Dalton Renshaw

For many students at Utah State University, Wednesday morning’s 5.7 magnitude earthquake was a first experience with a trembler.

For others, it was a first of another kind: A complex crisis.

With concerns over COVID-19 already putting people in a stressful state, USU student Savannah Shupe thought the earthquake could compound those fears.

 “I’m afraid it will fuel some people’s end of the world anxiety,” she said. “I’m trying to be light-hearted about it.”

Anne Benson wondered whether preparations underway for coronavirus might be helping in the wake of the quake and its dozens of aftershocks.

 “I don’t think people will be more worried,” she said. “They might feel better about having supplies.”

She did figure, however, that Utah’s religious climate might affect the way people think and talk about the combination of a global pandemic and Utah’s largest earthquake since 19992.

“People will probably start referencing the Bible and end of the world things,” Benson said.

The epicenter was in Magna, about 12 miles west of Salt Lake City. The earthquake broke pipes and caused flooding at the Salt Lake International Airport, which led to the airport being shut down and evacuated. According to Rocky Mountain Power, about 55,000 residents were without power in the morning after the quake. 

Also down: Utah Department of Health’s call center-supported information line for COVID-19. A temporary COVID-19 information line is available until further notice at 1-844-442-5224.

“I am so freaked out, I have never experienced anything like this, and the aftershocks are freaking me out,” said Sabrina Bell, a resident of Kearns, about six miles from the epicenter. “I was like, ‘what is happening? Did a car just hit our house?’ Everything was shaking and I’m like ‘No, this is an earthquake,’ and ‘What do I do?’ I couldn’t even move, I was just, like, frozen.”

Immediately following the initial earthquake, there were multiple aftershocks that were able to be felt, with some as strong as a 4.6 magnitude, according to the USGS. Dozens of aftershocks had been felt by mid-afternoon.

 “The couch still just shakes and it sounds like a loud, loud, big train that’s running right beside your house,” Bell said.

In Logan, Utah native Billye Wilson said she had felt a few earthquakes when she was younger, but those were “nowhere near as strong.”

“This was especially scary,” she said, “because I live on the third floor of my apartment and my bed is on risers. I originally thought my bed was shaking because my boyfriend was moving around, but then I realized I was sleeping alone at my house, and that’s when I shot up in bed and realized my whole room was shaking.”