On Sunday, May 5, 2024 at 5:30 pm, Tremonton experienced a magnitude (M) 4.4 earthquake with an epicenter 16 miles southwest of Tremonton.
This page is dedicated to urgent and new updates related to this earthquake or earthquake sequence. For more information, visit the USGS dashboard for this earthquake. To view recent earthquakes in Utah, visit the University of Utah Seismograph Stations’ interactive map. For more general Utah earthquake information, visit our Homepage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are some frequently asked earthquake questions and answers from Utah Division of Emergency Management, Utah Geological Survey, and University of Utah Seismograph Stations. For a full list of general earthquake FAQs, visit our homepage.
What do I do during an earthquake?
- Drop, Cover, and Hold On. Earthquakes last a matter of seconds, and rarely more than a minute or two. You do not have time to try to run out of a building. Just stay where you are and take cover under sturdy furniture like a desk, table, or chair; or get up against a wall without any glass overhead.
- If you are in an area without furniture offering cover then kneel down against a wall that doesn’t have any glass overhead (window, mirror, picture frame, etc.).
- If you are in bed, stay in bed and pull your pillow over your head to protect your face from glass, debris, and other objects. Don’t try to run out of a building where bricks, glass, porches, and chimneys could be falling.
- If you are driving, try to pull over as soon as safely possible; try not to stop on a bridge or under an overpass, or underneath power lines, big trees, or tall buildings.
What do I do after an earthquake?
- Expect aftershocks (additional earthquakes). Drop, Cover, and Hold-on for aftershocks. If you need to move to a different room to assist children, try to do so between the shaking.
- If you can do so safely, exit the building. Go to your family meeting place, work rally point, or other appointed area. Take accountability to see if anyone is missing. Provide first aid to those who need it.
- Inspect your home or buildings for visible signs of structural damage. If significant damage is discovered, do not re-enter the building.
- Check on neighbors and friends, providing assistance if needed.
- Only turn off the natural gas service valve to the building if you suspect a leak, meaning you can smell a rotten egg odor, hear a hissing sound, or visibly see a gas leak, or if your building is twisted or falling from its foundation; otherwise, leave the valve open. It is recommended that a professional (gas company tech or licensed plumber) turn your gas on, and relight your appliances. Unnecessarily turning off the gas valve causes significant extra work for utility companies and delays for customers in getting the gas turned on.
Am I safer inside or outside my house during an earthquake?
- It is unlikely your home will collapse from a moderate to large earthquake. Running out of a building during an earthquake subjects you to falling objects and flying glass. It is much safer to Drop, Cover, and Hold on wherever you are inside the building, taking cover under a desk, table, or other sturdy furniture.
- If you live in an unreinforced masonry home, such as those built with brick or concrete blocks before about 1975, it’s unlikely you would see a total collapse. In a worst-case scenario (7.0 magnitude or greater quake for Utah), we expect thousands of unreinforced masonry buildings to collapse, which is still a small percentage of them.
Where can I find the most reliable earthquake information?
- Please be very wary of non-official information, such as from various social media feeds. Reliable information on earthquakes is available from the Utah Geological Survey, the University of Utah Seismograph Stations, the Utah Division of Emergency Management, and the U.S. Geological Survey. As with all information, determine if it is from a reliable source and plausible before making decisions and if the information is questionable, verify it first.
- For general Utah earthquake information, earthquakes.utah.gov is the combined effort of all the above organizations and more to streamline all earthquake information to the public. Start there for preparedness information, latest earthquakes, earthquake geology, and frequently asked questions.
Where can I see the locations of recent earthquakes?
- Real-time earthquake maps are available from the University of Utah Seismograph Stations and the U.S. Geological Survey. The University of Utah Seismograph Stations operates the seismograph network in Utah.
Can Utah have a magnitude 9.0 earthquake?
- No, earthquakes greater than about magnitude 7.6 are not possible from the Wasatch fault zone or other faults in Utah. Faults in Utah are not long enough and are a different type than those off the coast of Alaska, Washington State, and the west coast of South America (Chile area), where earthquakes of magnitude 8 or greater are possible.
Does Utah have an earthquake early warning system or plans to implement and use one?
- Utah does not currently have an Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) system. While attractive in many aspects, an EEW system would face major challenges along the Wasatch Front, including relatively short distances for earthquake waves to travel before impacting the community. This shortens the alert time window. The cost of designing, installing, operating, and maintaining the system is another challenge.
- You may have heard California is implementing an earthquake early warning system. It has taken millions of dollars of investment by both state government and federal government to enhance their seismic network and connect it to alerting software.
How can I be notified of the next earthquake?
- Anyone can sign up for Earthquake Notification Service (ENS) and receive emails or text messages about earthquakes as the locations are published. You may set up your own geographic area and magnitude threshold. All University of Utah Seismograph Stations earthquake locations are sent out via the ENS system. Sign up here
After an earthquake, where do I report damage to my home or business?
- Report damage directly to your city building department or fill out the county-managed report forms set up in the days following a major earthquake. If you have earthquake insurance, contact your agent or carrier. However, earthquake damage is not covered by regular homeowner’s policies.
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Media Contacts
Seismology and Earthquake Research – University of Utah Seismograph Stations
Katherine Whidden, katherine.whidden@utah.edu
Emergency Response and Earthquake Preparedness – Utah Division of Emergency Management
John Crofts, jcrofts@utah.gov
Geologic Information and Response – Utah Geological Survey
Hollie Brown, holliebrown@utah.gov