The recent outbreak of earthquakes in eastern Idaho seems to be diminishing. Since a 5.3 quake jolted the region around Soda Springs at the beginning of the month, close to 2,000 aftershocks have been measured.
On September 2, residents in southeast Idaho got a preview of what was to come. In the half hour before the Sulphur Peak Quake hit, nine foreshocks shook the ground before the mainshock rumbled at a magnitude of 5.3 on the Richter scale.
In the days following the quake, 22 aftershocks measuring greater than 4.0 have been recorded and at least 136 falling somewhere in the threes. Those make up just a fraction of the more than 1,900 temblors the U.S. Geological Survey has detect in the region.
Dr. Keith Koper with the University of Utah Seismograph Stations tells the Idaho State Journal the number of quakes in southeast Idaho is going down. The magnitude of shaking is also on the decline.
But that’s small comfort to Lisa Sherman.
“It’s kind of scary,” says the server at the Geyser View Restaurant in Soda Springs.
“I’ve felt it in bed, because sometimes it’ll happen at like 11 o’clock. What it’s doing is it’s just shaking things and—not hard enough that things are falling off the wall or anything, but it’s rattling your windows,” she says.
According to Sherman, there’s been no damage in Soda Springs and the quakes do seem to be tapering off slightly.
For more local news, follow the KBSX newsroom on Twitter @KBSX915
Copyright 2017 Boise State Public Radio