And then... We had an earthquake

STANLEY, ID. –– A 6.5 magnitude earthquake originating out of central Southern Idaho, sent shockwaves throughout Idaho and the surrounding states.

According to the National Weather Service, the epicenter was just northwest of Stanley and was 45 kilometers west of Challis.

Folks in North Idaho probably felt a mild, but uncomfortable shaking right around 4:53 p.m., while reports came from places like Moscow, Elko (Nevada), British Columbia, and many others also feeling some of the shaking.

At Walmart in Smelterville, jars of mayo were rattled right off of the shelves according to shoppers.

The 6.5 earthquake was measured at a depth of 10 kilometers, which classifies it as a shallow-focus earthquake.

Shallow-focus earthquakes are any earthquake measured at a depth of 70 kilometers or less and occur more often than deep-focus quakes.

In fact 75% of the total energy released by earthquakes comes from shallow-focus earthquakes.

Unfortunately, the shallower an earthquake, the more damage it can produce.

Deeper earthquakes are rarely destructive.

Earthquakes in this particular part of the state are not that uncommon, and have experienced several quakes in the last few months, including a 3.0 quake on January 5.

The 1983 Borah Peak earthquake, Idaho’s last strong earthquake, was a magnitude 6.9, and resulted in the deaths of two people in Challis near the earthquake’s epicenter.

A 4.8 magnitude aftershock has already been reported and according to the National Weather Service out of Boise, don’t be surprised if there aren’t more of them.