The area in Layton east of U.S. 89 probably holds the city's highest potential for hazards during an earthquake, a state geologist has told the City Council.
Gary Christenson, a senior geologist with the Utah Geological Survey, gave the council an overview of quake dangers in Layton during a work meeting Thursday.He said the Wasatch Fault itself is generally located just east of U.S. 89 and homes in that area could be threatened by rock flows, debris flows and landslides during an earthquake.
He said city government can help lessen earthquake hazards with strict land-use ordinances, building codes and disclosure in real-estate transactions. Unfortunately, he said, the latter is not taking place.
Additional hazards from earthquakes in the city include damage from ground shaking, surface-fault ruptures, soil liquefaction and flooding.
He said the liquefaction of the soil, while not usually a real life-threatening danger unless it happens on a slope, is most likely in sandy areas near the Great Salt Lake or stream beds and where there is a high water table.