MAGNA, Utah — The pictures from Favian Cruz’s camera roll bring him back to five years ago Tuesday.
“I went into the room to get some rest and five minutes later, it started shaking bad. We got scared, and we heard people screaming outside. All the houses were on the floor. It was terrible,” he recalled.
On March 18, 2020, a 5.7 magnitude earthquake put a crack in Magna's community foundation.
There is little doubt about Utah being earthquake country, and researchers say another one could hit at any time.
“We have about one magnitude three earthquake a month,” explained research scientist Katherine Whidden with the University of Utah seismograph stations.
Whidden's biggest concern is the Wasatch Fault, which runs through northern Utah and directly through Salt Lake City, the state's most populated area. According to Whidden, the region could possibly see a 7.5 magnitude earthquake in the future.
5 years after earthquake, Magna community still rebuilding:
“Magna gave us a pretty good shake right, we all remember it. It was pretty scary. That was a 5.7 and what we’re expecting is about a 7," she said Tuesday. "So that doesn’t sound that much bigger but it’s about 20 times bigger. The amount of energy released at the source is about 90 times bigger.”
Even though no one can predict the next big earthquake, Whidden said there’s a 50 percent chance it could be in the next 50 years.
Watch below as earthquake happened while FOX 13 was live on the air:
After rebuilding from the ground up over the last five years, Cruz hopes his new foundation is strong enough to withstand another hit.
“I’m happy to live here," he said. "It’s important to have a really nice neighborhood. That day, I can tell you, my wife, she just got up and asked people what they needed, asked if they’re ok. It’s the most important thing. Everybody helping each other.”
