Idaho Residents Give Harrowing Accounts of 6.5 Earthquake

Parts of Idaho experienced a 6.5 earthquake on Tuesday evening, and now residents in the impacted [...]

By Stephen Andrew

Parts of Idaho experienced a 6.5 earthquake on Tuesday evening, and now residents in the impacted areas have given harrowing accounts of the event. According to CNBC, the quake was centered near Stanley, Idaho, a rural mountain town about 73 miles northeast of Meridian.

Speaking to the outlet, Brett Woolley — owner of Bridge Street Grill in Stanley — shared that he heard the earthquake coming before he felt its effects. "I heard the roar, and at first it sounded like the wind but then the roar was tremendous," he stated, shortly after the quake ended. "The whole house was rattling, and I started to panic. I'm sitting here perfectly still and the water next to me is still vibrating."

Marcus Smith, an emergency room health unit coordinator for St. Luke's Wood River Medical Center, stated that his facility — which is roughly 65 miles from the epicenter — felt the quake, but that it did not impact their ability to treat patients. "It felt like a wave going through the ground, so I knew right away what it was. It just felt like waves going through the ground."

Many have since taken to social media to comment on the earthquake, with one user quipping, "Lived in California for 18 years and never felt an earthquake. Had my first experience in BOISE, IDAHO WTF!!!!!!!!"

"To be clear: The #Idaho #earthquake is not going to 'trigger' a Yellowstone eruption. The plumbing for the volcano is separate & distinct. Mountainous regions like ID have tons of faults, & our very active planet is constantly changing

Seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones also tweeted about the earthquake, explaining, "A M6.5 earthquake just happened in Idaho this evening, northeast of Boise," adding, "[USGS] website is not showing aftershocks yet, but you should expect them. The largest aftershock to the average M6.5 is M5.3. Half have aftershocks even bigger than this."

She later shared, "Idaho has a history of bigger quakes. In 1983, the Borah Peak quake was M7.0. Today's quake is almost 100 miles northwest of the 1983 event."

"Idaho is part of the Basin and Range tectonic province," Jones also offered. "Everything west of the Wasatch Mtns. is getting slowly stretched out as a bit of North America tries to cling to thePacific plate."

The earthquake was not reported to have caused any significant damage.

Photo Credit: Muhammad Fauzy/NurPhoto via Getty Images

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