More to See Straight Ahead

As Erika mentioned - my morning routine at work was a little different this Thursday: 7:15 am - settle in, check email, sip some coffee, feel office building shake (mildly) from a magnitude 6 earthquake originating 200 miles away! As an "earthquake" geologist I was more than a little excited.

Since Salt Lake City is closer to the epicenter than Reno, where the Nevada earthquake folk reside, my co-worker Greg and our new X-new boss (long story; in a nutshell, he was hired, left after 7 days, rehired 7 days later!) were dispatched to go look for geologic evidence of strong ground shaking (e.g., ground cracks, fault rupture, shattered ground)....basically a "scientific" emergency response. We hit the road by 1 pm. We didn't find much geologic evidence for the shaking due to snow fall overnight on Thursday, but we did get to witness the real emergency response (and media frenzy) and review the incredible damage. Here are a few photos. Certainly a wake-up call to all of us who live in unreinforced masonry buildings, which were hit pretty hard. More photos here.