     |
|
SALT LAKE CITY (UPI)--The Salt Lake Valley was jolted by an earthquake this morning for the second time in a week, but damage was reported light.
Seismological reports on the magnitude of the quake differed. At Berkeley, Calif., the University of California seismograph picked up the temblor but said it wasn't strong enough to determine location.
However, at Pasadena, Calif., Dr. Charles Richter said the earth tremor was "not small" and his equipment indicated a magnitude of 5 on the Richter scale. The earthquake that caused extensive damage in Cache Valley last Thursday was recorded at a magnitude of 6.1.
At Carbon College, where a seismograph is maintained under a University of Utah program, a spokesman said the quake was strong enough to knock the needle off the paper at one point. However, a computation as to magnitude on the Richter scale was not available immediately.
Following last week's quake, Dr. Richter had forecast a followup quake at a later date. However, it was not determined immediately what relationship, if any, today's tremor bore to that of last week.
J. Stewart Williams, in charge of seismology equipment at Utah State University at Logan, said the quake showed "pretty strong" on the apparatus.
This morning's earthquake in Salt Lake Valley was not felt, for the most part, in Logan and Cache Valley, but it set nerves on edge and made people "tremor conscious" again.
Tuesday night the Logan-Cache fire department personnel reported a mild tremor about 8 p.m. and several of the cracks in the fire hall, caused in last week's temblor, were widened.
In one area near the front of the fire station plaster came tumbling down.
But Wednesday morning most people didn't feel anything. An employee of the U. S. Geological survey, Glenn Anderson, however, reported that he felt the quake.
He was working at his desk at 170 North Main and called to his companion, Bud Robison, "Did you feel that quake?"
Both laughed off the sensation as there was no strong shock but rather Mr. Anderson just felt a swaying motion. But some minutes later they heard the report of the Salt Lake tremor.
With Salt Lake City reporting the quake, nationwide attention turned to Cache Valley again. Radio stations and newspapers from many areas called to see if the center of the quake were in Cache Valley again.
American Broadcasting System in New York City called Police Chief Eli Drakulich to see if any damage was reported here. Both Provo and Ogden papers called The Herald Journal for a report on local conditions.
But the only damage reported was to people's nerves as they became jumpy and fearful of a repeat of last week's tremor.
Today's quake was stronger in the Salt Lake Valley than elsewhere.
Windows were reported broken at several downtown buildings, light fixtures fell in some firms and schools in general sent their students outside on the lawns while maintenance personnel checked for damage.
A woman suffered a heart attack at a downtown bank during the quake, which struck at 9:05 a.m. mst and was taken to a hospital by police ambulance.
The roof of a house was reported to have caved in at 17 No. 5th West and a crack was reported in South State St.
The quake lasted about 10 seconds in Salt Lake City and appeared to be much stronger on the flatland of the valley than on the residential areas of the east benches.
However, in Provo it was reported the temblor was felt more along the bench areas than in the valley.
Several professors at Brigham Young University reported feeling the quake strongly. One reported it rolled his chair away from his desk.
Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Co. reported the quake did not cause any of its circuits to fail. However, about two minutes after the quake there were temporary line blocks due to over loads.
Howard Blood, a spokesman for the phone company, said "it looked as if everybody in Salt Lake City tried to call everybody else at the same time."
Cracks appeared in the walls of several buildings, among them the American Oil Building and Deseret News Bldg. At the Deseret News 16 windows were broken on the fourth floor and a light fixture ripped down on the third.
A number of stores reported merchandise had tumbled into the aisles during the quake. At one Grand Central market a spokesman said things were "a real mess."
Police at Ogden reported receiving far fewer calls from today's quake than from that of last Thursday.
Occupants rushed outside several large buildings in Salt Lake City when the temblor sent them rocking, among them the City and County Building and the State Office Bldg.
A woman identified as a Mrs. Newbold of Magna reported the quake appeared to travel from west to east. Mrs. Newbold said she was talking to her mother in Murray at the time and that she felt the shocks several seconds before her mother did.
For one Salt Lake woman the quake revived unpleasant memories. Mrs. Don Benson, a native of England who underwent numerous bombing raids during World War II, said her first thought was that Salt Lake City had been bombed when she saw dishes rattle in the cupboard and her baby's bed roll across the floor.
Dr. Kenneth L. Cook of University of Utah said it was his opinion today's quake was a brand new one, not an aftermath of the temblor last Thursday. He said the seismograph at Utah indicated the quake started 10 seconds before 9:05 a.m. and lasted 11 minutes, peaking about one minute after the first tremor. Dr. Cook said the needle was knocked off the chart for about one minute.
At Cyprus High School authorities said it was not known if the 650 students would be able to return to school Thursday. On the north and west sides of the building, particularly at the old section, the facade of the structure pulled about two inches away from the rest of the building. Inside the old part cracks up to two inches wide and eight to 10 feet long could be seen in the plaster.
Inside the front door the floor of the hall had pulled about one and one half inches apart from the floors of the classrooms.
Plaster had fallen in several rooms and seven windows in one room were cracked.
Authorities at Murray, Davis, Jordan and Salt Lake City School Districts reported little damage and no schools closed.
[Herald Journal; September 5, 1962]
Following continuing inspections of Wednesday's earthquake results throughout Salt Lake Valley, officials today characterized the damage as "minor but widespread."
Calculations by seismologists at Utah State University, University of Utah and from Stanford Research Institute placed the quake's epicenter near the northern tip of the Oquirrh Mountains, about 18 miles southwest of the center of Salt Lake City.
The temblor followed by six days one which shook a wide area of Northern Utah, causing damage estimated now in excess of $1 million.
Dr. J. Stewart Williams, head of the geology department at USU, noted today that through the cooperation of Stanford geologists and additional seismographic equipment, the epicenter of Cache Valley's quake a week ago has been fixed as just north of the Richmond Cemetery.
Seismographs have been installed at the former Boy Scout lodge in Logan Canyon, at Tony's Grove, and in Cache Valley. These readings complement those at the Oldham Seismograph, and the more recently installed strong motion recorder at Utah State University.
Dr. Williams and other scientists are expecting to inspect the High Creek Canyon area for possible discovery of fissures. A major landslide in Franklin Basin was reported to have been spotted last Thursday morning during the Cache quake.
Wednesday's shock, which struck the Salt Lake Valley area at 9:05 a.m., knocked bricks from chimneys, cracked walls, broke glass, dumped merchandise from store shelves and sent some interior structures crashing to the ground. One woman was injured.
Cyprus and Granger High Schools in Salt Lake County suffered the heaviest damage, although officials said it was confined to cracks in the walls and floors.
Dr. S. Theodore Algermissen, associate professor of geophysics at University of Utah, said he did not believe Wednesday's shock, which swayed buildings in downtown Salt Lake City, was an "after shock" to the earlier one which wreaked heavy damage on Logan, Richmond and Lewiston, Utah.
[Herald Journal; September 6, 1962]
SALT LAKE CITY (UPI)--The earthquake hits and the building starts shaking, so you run outside where it's safe--right?
Wrong.
State Civil Defense authorities warned today that the safest place to stay during an earthquake is inside the building. The reason: no protection outside from falling debris. While rushing to "safety" you're likely to be clobbered by a falling roof tile or a shattered windowpane.
In the wake of Utah's second earthquake within a week, the officials warned that the danger from falling debris is especially prevalent in downtown areas where objects can be shaken loose from tall buildings.
Debris falls inside buildings too, of course, but it doesn't have as far to fall--especially if you crawl under a bed or table.
[Herald Journal; September 6, 1962]
The second earthquake struck the Utah area and Magna, together with other portions of the state 'trembled" about 9:05 a.m. on Wednesday.
This shake was distinctly worse than the one last week when Logan suffered great damage. Windows were broken in Magna, including two large ones at Bradshaw Auto Works and housewives said that dishes were knocked down from shelves.
Small loss was reported.
[Magna Times; September 6, 1962]
Last Wednesday morning's earthquake which rocked the Magna area and caused devastation in a half-dozen stores, also brought damage to many homes and schools.
The tremor, the epicenter of which was located just west of Magna, shuddered with varying intensity through this valley at 9:05 a.m.
It rumbled and rattled in Magna with a ferocity that shook dishes and buildings.
Local markets reported that jars of pickles, jams and other food items were knocked from shelves, creating a veritable chaos in the stores from the savage destructiveness.
The only person reported injured was Mrs. Vern A. Oliver, 2888 S. 9150 W., manager of the Magna Cornet Store. She suffered a broken leg when she slipped on a broken bottle of lotion, in attempting to get out of the shaking building.
Seismologists do not believe there will be a followup tremor--although they add this conclusion is not absolutely infallible.
School work was totally disrupted as pupils were rushed outside as the quake struck. Cyprus High School students were dismissed for the day because of investigation damage to the building. However, the students returned for regular class schedules on Thursday.
Local grocery stores were the hardest hit, when glass merchandise broke. However, they cleaned up the mess and were back in business shortly after the quake. Damage at the Magna grocery stores ran from estimates of $400 to $1,000 at each store.
Ernest and Galey Colosimo of the Standard Market said it took them until 2:30 in the afternoon to get their store back in "shape" for selling. Down at Safeway's, Lee Gull, manager, had crews immediately get busy to clear the aisles of broken jam bottles and cans of other food.
The residence of E. G. Paulos, 2911 S. 8700 West, was damaged when an outside cooler was thrown to the ground, a stereo broken and other damage occurred.
The Cyprus Drug, Dyches Rexall Drug and Martin Drug report bottles of lotion and creams were smashed in the short rumble.
But all in all, citizens of Magna consider themselves most fortunate that no one was seriously hurt and property damage was comparatively low.
[Magna Times; September 13, 1962]
By Lucy Carlson
"Don't push the panic button!" These were the words of many of the teachers as the earthquake struck Cyprus last week.
It was a quiet routine day when all of a sudden we heard a deep rumbling sound from down in the ground and then the buildings started doing the "twist."
When Mr. Peterson, our algebra and chemistry teacher, felt the tremble, he ran out of his classroom and down the hall before he remembered his class was back in the room waiting for instructions pertaining to what they should do. Lynda Arnone, Cyprus cheerleader, screamed, jumped from her seat and ran around the room a couple of times before Mr. Herbert was able to calm his second period English class. A falling piece of plaster barely missed Jim Carlson as he walked from the office to class. All students were dismissed to report to the football field while the building was inspected. Everyone congregated around the cheerleaders for a short Pep Rally to take our minds off the tumult we had just experienced. Of course fifteen cheers for the earthquake were inevitable as it had been the reason for dismissal from school.
[Magna Times; September 13, 1962]
2 High Schools Emptied For Day; No Injuries
SALT LAKE CITY (AP)--A strong earthquake shook Salt Lake valley for almost a half minute at 9:05 a.m. today, causing widespread minor damage and forcing two high schools to close for the day.
At least three homes were damaged and books and merchandise were knocked from shelves throughout Utah's capitol city.
Dr. Kenneth Cook, head of the geophysics department at the University of Utah, said today's quake was not as strong as the one that caused between $500,000 and $1 million damage in Logan and the Cache Valley area last Thursday.
But he called it "a good jolt."
Some 2,300 students were sent home from Granger and Cyprus High Schools when visible damage to both buildings occurred during the quake.
Dr. Reed Call, principal at Granger, said the inner walls in about 10 second-story classrooms separated from the outer main wall by a half-inch. He said at least one window was broken and ceiling tile was knocked loose.
"But building inspectors assure us the damage is only superficial, not structural. Classes will resume tomorrow," Dr. Call said.
It was the same thing at Cyprus High where classes also are scheduled to take up again Thursday.
Several Salt Lake City residents had close calls during the quake.
At least one heart attack was blamed on the earthquake. Salt Lake City police said a woman collapsed in the Tracy-Collins Bank in Salt Lake City.
Several other residents had close calls.
Janet Hallet, 15, said she woke up to the sound of bricks crashing through her bedroom window. "I screamed and screamed. I didn't know what was happening," she said.
Janet is the daughter of Leo C. Hallet. She said the chimney collapsed and some of the bricks smashed through her window and landed on the bed beside her.
The vacant house next door to the Hallet residence also was damaged. Janet said a number of bricks fell off one wall.
Dr. Cook said this quake, like the one last Thursday, knocked the university's seismograph instruments off the scale, making it impossible to get an exact reading.
Last week's quake was centered in the Cache Valley area and most of the damage was in Logan, Richmond and Lewiston areas.
Today's quake apparently was centered in the Salt Lake City area. It knocked down the ceiling of at least one home and left cracks in some downtown buildings which swayed during the tremor.
The California Institute of Technology estimated the quake's magnitude as 5 on the Richter scale. Last week's quake was recorded at 6.1. A magnitude of 7 or above is considered a major quake.
Today's quake was felt as far south as Provo and Spanish Fork. It lasted about 10 seconds in Salt Lake City and appeared to be much stronger on the valley flatland than on the east bench residential areas.
In Provo it was felt more along the bench area than in the valley. The lights went out briefly in Spanish Fork.
A tremor was felt in Ogden.
To workers in downtown Salt Lake City, the "center" appeared to be right in the metropolitan district. Buildings swayed and floors rumbled.
"It was a first class shocker," said Police Lt. Don Ferguson, who was called to a residential area to check damage reports.
He found Mrs. George Miller in tears, the bedroom ceiling at her home a mass of rubble on the floor.
"It was awful, terrible," said Mrs. Miller. "The bricks and plaster and everything fell right down on me and the boy."
Neither Mrs. Miller nor her 3-year-old son was injured, but police said they would probably have to abandon their damaged home.
The floor shook violently in the Associated Press Bureau in Salt Lake City on the sixth floor of the Tribune Building.
[Ogden Standard-Examiner; September 5, 1962]
Residents Throughout Area Report Jolts About 9 A.M.
Area residents still jittery from the big earthquake of a week ago, were shaken up at 9:03 a.m. today with another earth tremor.
The 'quake lasted for about four seconds and was felt over a wide area.
Residents telephoned the Ogden Standard Examiner from Layton, North Ogden, Clearfield and Roy.
And the shake was felt in Ogden Canyon, Ogden Valley and in Eden.
There was no local damage reported and no injuries.
There was considerable confusion in Ogden when a Salt Lake City TV station reported the 'quake had not been felt in Ogden. Many people called to report they had felt the tremor and had also heard the characteristic rumble.
Robert Van Dyke, 15, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Garrett Van Dyke, 1024 25th, said his bed shook and a wall mirror trembled for about four seconds.
Mrs. Melvin Caldwell of 2322 Jefferson said her TV set shook and she felt the tremor in the couch where she was sitting.
Mrs. Raymond Robles, whose husband is a colonel at Hill Air Force Base, said she was talking on the telephone to a friend in Layton when the 'quake hit.
"Hey, is that another earthquake?" she said to her friend.
"It sure is. I felt it too," her friend said.
Mrs. Robles said she has lived in California and Iran and is somewhat used to earthquakes. "You can't mistake that noise," she said.
Mrs. John J. Martinez of 228 Arizona in Clearfield was at a neighbor's house drinking coffee. "The coffee pot jumped and her potted plants were shaking," Mrs. Martinez said.
Mrs. Florence Buschjost of 1578 24th was still in bed in her basement. "My bed is on casters and it rolled back and forth," she said.
Mrs. Sam Gillespie of 3157 Iowa said she was in her kitchen when she felt her house quiver. She also heard the noise.
Mrs. Pearl Rosenlos of 4479 E. 2075 W., Roy, was cleaning the wash basin in her bathroom when the 'quake occurred. "I heard a pitcher fall in the front room," she said. "The same pitcher was knocked off a table in the big earthquake of a week ago," she added. She also heard the rumble.
Mrs. Florence Vogel was sitting on a couch watching television. "The windows rattled and my chair shook," she said. Mrs. Vogel remarked about the rumbling sound also.
Sheldon Austad of 1486 23rd, superintendent of the post office at the Naval Supply Depot in Clearfield, was typing when the 'quake hit. "I thought the typewriter was going to land in my lap."
Mrs. Alice Neff of 5810 S. 2000 W., Roy, was sitting at her kitchen table. "I felt the whole house shake," she said.
[Ogden Standard-Examiner; September 5, 1962]
SALT LAKE CITY (AP)--The cuckoo clock on the wall of the Albert G. Hauser home stopped two days ago and they couldn't get it started again.
It looked like the cuckoo was as dead as the dodo.
At 9:05 a.m. today, an earthquake shook Salt Lake City. It gave the Hauser home a good rocking but the only noticeable effect was on the clock.
"It's going again," said Mrs. Hauser, "as good as ever."
[Ogden Standard-Examiner; September 5, 1962]
SALT LAKE CITY (AP)--Residents of Utah's capitol city settled back into their normal routines today after an earthquake that probably damaged more nerves than buildings.
The shock Wednesday, coming just six days after an earthquake that violently shook the Cache Valley, caused relatively little damage and only one serious injury.
Mrs. Vern Oliver, 56, hurt a hip when she slipped on a bottle that had been toppled to the floor in a store she manages in Magna.
The Jackson elementary and Cyprus and Granger high schools in Salt Lake City suffered some damage, but students were back in all three today.
A few private dwellings and small business establishments were badly damaged. Cracks appeared in some major buildings, but most were tiny.
The epicenter of the quake was placed about a half mile west of Magna by Dr. S. Theodore Algermissen, associate professor of geophysics at the University of Utah.
He estimated its magnitude at 5.1 on the Richter scale. The tremor that shook the Cache Valley was rated at 5.7, or six times stronger.
"Any quake of the magnitude of that in Cache Valley could set up disturbances all along the seismic belt extending through the Intermountain Area from Mexico to Canada," he said.
"The Salt Lake Quake probably was triggered by the Cache Valley quake, but we can't use the term 'trigger' in the sense of something that happens immediately."
Noting that Wednesday's tremor was much less violent than the one that shook Northern Utah and parts of five other states last week, Cook said:
"I hope we are on a downward trend of activity throughout the length of the seismic belt, but, of course, no one can predict when or where an earthquake might occur."
Buildings in downtown Salt Lake City were shaken violently by the tremor that began at 9:05 a.m. and lasted about 30 seconds.
A number of people reported close calls as plaster ceilings and windows shattered, among them Mrs. Oral Martineau, 24, of Salt Lake City.
"I was in the bedroom and the children were tumbling on the bed when the tremor began," she said.
She snatched up her son, Raymond, 6, and daughter, Kimber Lee, 2, moments before the bedroom ceiling plaster and part of an inner wall crashed at the foot of the bed.
"It fell just where I'd been standing when I decided to get the children out of the bedroom," she said.
[Ogden Standard-Examiner; September 6, 1962]
PASADENA, Calif. (AP)--In Iran, in Utah, in California, the earth has been quaking. For a week the headlines have been full of earthquake stories. Why?
Is it earthquake weather?
Ask a seismologist that one and you're apt to get a reaction good for magnitude 3 on the Richter scale. When the tremor eases, you'll get this explanation:
Neither the weather, nuclear testing nor the signs of the Zodiac have any influence on earthquakes which are due to shifts in the earth's crust. They occur continually.
"We can dispose of that one quickly," said Dr. Charles Richter of the seismological laboratory of the California Institute of Technology. There has been no unusual activity at all. It's just that a few occurred where they drew a great deal of attention."
The Caltech lab at Pasadena has equipment to measure the major quakes of the world--and the minor ones close at hand. Such was the tremor which rocked nearby Inglewood last Saturday.
What about a quake in Iran, which killed 10,000 or more?
"Major shocks of this nature occur about 20 times a year," Dr. Richter said. "This one took such a heavy toll because it occurred in an area with a large population, living in structures of the weakest type of construction."
[Ogden Standard-Examiner; September 7, 1962]
Click here for Deseret News (Salt Lake City, UT) Newspaper Articles for the 1962 Magna, UT Earthquake.
Click here for Salt Lake Tribune Newspaper Articles for the 1962 Magna, UT Earthquake.
Return to Magna Earthquake Summary.
|
Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-0111 «» Phone 801-581-6274 «» Fax 801-585-5585 E-mail UUSS! |
|