Quakes strike central Utah

It wasn't the first time Jeannie Allen felt the ground move under her feet.

The California transplant once witnessed a stretch of asphalt road and surrounding telephone poles jerk up and down. Another quake she recalls easily but with some unease is the temblor that caused the building where her 11th-floor office was located to sway.

So when she felt the house rattle Friday afternoon, she was immediately confident the rumble was more than noisy children.

Allen was right: Three small earthquakes struck the Nephi area late Friday.

The first quake, measured at 3.7 on the Richter scale, came at 5:39 p.m., about six miles southwest of Nephi. The second, a 3.6 jolt, hit at 5:42 p.m. and was six miles northwest of Levan. The third shock, a 3.7 in strength, came at 5:43 p.m., six miles southwest of Nephi.

There were no immediate reports of damages or injuries from the jolts.

According to Michael Jordan of the University of Utah's seismic station, the quakes are not considered unusual, but they were large enough to be felt by humans in the immediate vicinity. All three were in a close proximity.

"There are plenty of faults in that area," Jordan said.

Jordan said any aftershocks that may come are likely to be too small to be felt.

A 3.0 quake also stuck the Redmond area. about 30 miles south of Levan — the geographic center of Utah — almost exactly 24 hours earlier.

It hit at 5:33 p.m. Christmas Day.

Almost a dozen smaller quakes, ranging from 1.0 to 2.2, were also recorded by the U.'s seismic station during the past week in various portions of Utah.

Earthquakes in Nephi aren't unusual since Nephi is on a fault line, said Nephi Mayor Chad Brough. Many residents didn't seem to worry about the quake — if they felt it at all.

Daniel Aagard, who lives in Mona, about 10 miles from Nephi, said he didn't.

The quake gave a small scare to Kayleen Evans, who immediately started searching for her children. She felt better after taking a quick look around the house and seeing no damage.

Brough isn't worried about future earthquakes rocking Nephi. He said the city workers are prepared to respond to such a natural disaster.

"If you think about it more, you think what you would've done if it was a bigger earthquake, Brough said. "But if you are prepared, there is no need to fear."

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Contributing: Lynn Arave

E-mail: utahcounty@desnews.com