BOISE, ID - When you think of earthquakes, California or even Japan may come to mind. But we’ve actually had a major earthquake here in Idaho. It happened 26 years ago in Challis. So, just how common are earthquakes in the Gem State and are you prepared? Correspondent Samantha Wright gives us the lowdown during this Earthquake Awareness Month.

It was October of 1983. A cool fall day in Boise, children going to school, parents heading to work. Then, without warning, the ground started to shake. Idaho was having an earthquake.

Dave Jackson: “I remember it fondly, I was standing at the bus stop and felt the ground shaking at my feet and we were all startled and I remember everybody’s mom coming storming out of the front door and are the kids o.k., are the kids o.k., it was pretty exciting.”

Dave Jackson lived through the quake, as did the rest of Boise. Jackson grew up to become the Earthquake Program Manager at the Idaho Bureau of Homeland Security, that’s the states Emergency Management Agency. Now, he knows a lot more about that 1983 Borah Peak Earthquake.

Dave Jackson: “If we look at the impact and the damage that earthquake caused in recent dollar figures, we’re looking at about $26.7 million in damage resulting from that earthquake in 2008 dollar figures.”

The quake also killed two children, who were walking to school in Challis near the epicenter. The quake was one of the largest in the United States in the last 100 years. It was a wake-up call for most Idahoans, who thought earthquakes only happen in California.

Dave Jackson: "Idaho is one of the most seismically active states with hundreds of recorded documented in Idaho since the mid part of the 20th century.”

Idaho actually had many earthquakes magnitude 4.0 or higher in the past one hundred years. Lincoln County in 1905. Cascade in 1977. Boise, yes Boise, in 1916 and again in 1947. And smaller quakes, 3.0 or less, happen all the time.

Kasper VanWijk: “Of course, a lot of earthquakes happen even here that we don’t even feel or don’t wake up from.”

Kasper VanWijk is a professor in the Geosciences Department at Boise State University.

Kasper VanWijk: “Compared to most other states, I think Idaho ranks in the top of the United States in terms of earthquakes, but if you compare to places like Japan or other very active places it might not be that many.”

Matthew Haney is also a Professor in the Department of Geosciences at Boise State University. His specialty is volcanoes and earthquakes.

Matthew Haney: “There are micro earthquakes, or small earthquakes that are ongoing in Idaho. They’re below the threshold of human feeling but they are picked up by our instruments so we’re able to track them and locate where they’re happening.”

VanWijk says if an earthquake is magnitude three or under, you probably won’t feel it.

Kasper VanWijk: “I think it’s pretty hard to feel magnitude three events unless you’re on top of them. I would say those happen a lot and then bigger then that four, you should feel around the state, four, five.”

So what’s the likelihood Idaho will have another magnitude four, five, or higher quake? To answer that question, Matthew Haney says he would turn to the geological record.

Matthew Haney: “What we’ve learned in the past guides us, what’s going to happen in the future. We know that there’s been magnitude seven earthquakes in Idaho just in the last 50 years, not here in Boise, but in Idaho, so this is a good indication that there’s a need for awareness in Idaho in the future.”

Awareness is key, agrees Earthquake Program Manager Dave Jackson. The Idaho Bureau of Homeland Security is using October, Earthquake Awareness Month, to distribute a booklet about quakes in Idaho.

Dave Jackson: “We need to explain to people what the consequences of earthquakes are so people have the understanding of what kind of damage they can expect to see and most importantly the proactive steps they can take to prepare themselves for the inevitability of an earthquake happening in Idaho.”

Some of those steps are pretty simple, such as don’t run outside during a quake - where falling objects can cause injury. That’s how the two children in Challis were killed during the 1983 Borah Peak Earthquake.

Dave Jackson: “Whenever you suspect an earthquake is happening, drop to the ground so you don’t fall over, crawl under a good sturdy object like this table that I’m sitting in front of and that will protect you from falling objects, whether it’s a suspended ceiling or other objects that could fall and hurt ya.”

Jackson also wants people to plan ahead for an earthquake.

Dave Jackson: “Keep good sturdy shoes and a flashlight in a bag near your bed, that’s important because these things can happen in the middle of the night and when people leave their home, we don’t want people walking on broken glass and further injuring themselves.”

Boise State Geosciences Professor Matthew Haney says often where there are mountains; there are geologic forces at work. The beautiful hills and mountains that draw us here, also put us in danger.

Matthew Haney: “The landscape of seismically active areas, a very beautiful landscape, people are drawn to live in these locations, it’s like the sirens call from Greek mythology, you want to live in these beautiful parts of the world, but then there’s risk there will be major earthquakes in these areas.”

The Idaho Bureau of Homeland Security will insert the Earthquake Handbook in this Sunday’s newspaper in Boise, Nampa, Twin Falls, Pocatello, and Idaho Falls. Or you can email: citizen.corps@bhs.idaho.gov for a copy.

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