MAGNA — A 4.17 magnitude aftershock shook Utahns Tuesday night just before 9 p.m.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported the shock occurred nine miles away from Salt Lake City and 2.8 miles northeast of Magna, the epicenter of the 5.7 magnitude earthquake that hit on March 18.
“It was a good-sized shake. I think probably thousands of people felt it,” said Keith Koper, University of Utah Seismograph Stations director and geophysics professor, adding it’s not unusual for aftershocks to occur after a moderate earthquake like the one that occurred in March.
Koper said there is still no substantially increased probability that a larger earthquake will occur, but that it was likely a couple of smaller aftershocks might follow.
“It wouldn’t be surprising if tonight we have a couple of magnitude 2s or magnitude 3s,” he said. “Every time you have an earthquake you can almost think of it as starting another cascade of aftershocks.”
The USGS and the University of Utah Seismograph Stations reminded Utahns on social media that aftershocks from the Magna earthquake are normal, even almost a month later.
“The aftershocks are ongoing and this is normal,” according to University of Utah seismograph stations’ Twitter account.
The Utah Division of Emergency Management’s official Twitter account reported the aftershock was felt from the Salt Lake Valley to Davis County.
“Hey Utah, we know you are getting tired of these earthquakes,” the account tweeted.
Aftershocks from the Magna earthquake can be expected for the next few weeks, according to the Utah Division of Emergency Management.
The Utah Division of Emergency Management said Tuesday’s aftershock serves as a reminder of the Great Utah ShakeOut annual statewide earthquake drill, planned for Thursday.