Reader comments: Seismic events make Utahns quake

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John | 12:00 p.m. May 25, 2008
Talk about fear mongering....

What are you, representing the businesses that sell preparedness equipment?

I have lived here for nearly 30 years, and never have been involved in a conversation about an earthquake along the front, beyond the fact that it is one of the many things we need to be prepared for.

The odds are, you will be killed in your car, or murdered by an illegal alien, before you will be involved in a major earthquake along the front.

I suggest you stop with the "500 years" overdue, which is a complete farce with no accuracy involved for you to go about thinking you can predict an earthquake.

If its such a big deal, if its such a certainty, if Utah is so positive its going to happen, why did the government allow people to build along the fault in the first place.

It seems that money trumps logical thinking every time.
HH | 5:13 p.m. May 25, 2008
Enjoy life! Stop worrying about what might happen in the future!
Geologist | 9:56 p.m. May 25, 2008
Boy, the letters preceding mine are utter nonsense!

The Wasatch fault has had earthquakes every couple of centuries at any given segment of the fault. Add up the dozen segments, and that means Utah WILL have a sizable quake (some of which are mentioned in the article) during every generation.

Sure, the exact timing cannot be predicted, but the certainty of a damaging quake occurring in Utah in the future is 100%.

Building codes need to be upgraded, and older masonry buildings need to be retrofitted so people are not killed. This isn't about 72-hour kits, it's about death. Look at China...
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Houses at the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon run along the Wasatch fault. A major earthquake along the Wasatch Front is 500 years overdue. Calamities can be minimized with a little planning. (Deseret News Archives)
Deseret News Archives
Houses at the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon run along the Wasatch fault. A major earthquake along the Wasatch Front is 500 years overdue. Calamities can be minimized with a little planning.