5.8 quake strikes Montana!

An early morning scroll through my Facebook was full of posts from my Montana friends about houses shaking, pictures falling off the walls, power outages, etc.  Many were quite “shaken” by the earthquake centered near Lincoln, Montana.  This is one of the strongest quakes to hit Montana is many years.  Thankfully, there have been no injuries reported.  The 5.8 earthquake and aftershocks awoke residents in Montana, Idaho and Washington state.  I went through a small earthquake in western Montana many years ago and when the dishes rattled in the cabinets it was a pretty eerie feeling. I can’t imagine how this one felt!  Of course, many of the first questions were asking if this quake was a preempt to Yellowstone blowing.  However, geologists do not feel this activity is related to the recent Yellowstone swarm.

“An earthquake strong enough to rouse sleeping residents more than 30 miles from its epicenter struck western Montana early Thursday.”

“The magnitude 5.8 temblor hit just after midnight about 6 miles southeast of Lincoln, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. There were no immediate reports of injuries, but 9-1-1 call centers were swamped with calls and advising people to only call if they were injured, reports CBS Missoula affiliate KPAX-TV.”

“It was the state’s largest shaker in a dozen years, the station adds.”

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