An earthquake measuring 4.6 on the Richter scale shook southwestern Montana on Tuesday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The jolt damaged an apartment building and knocked bricks off the facades of Main Street buildings in southwest of the city.
The epicenter of the earthquake was reported about nine miles northeast of Sheridan, at 9:46 when most of the people were in their offices and kids in their schools.
Students at Sheridan Elementary School responded to the quake like they were taught during earthquake drills. They immediately went under their desks, when their teachers realized an earthquake was shaking the area.
Those at home were evacuated from their apartment buildings and adjusted in makeshift homes in the form of tents. They will be allowed to get back to their homes once it is assured that the buildings have not reported any serious damage and are safe.
The earthquake was felt in Helena and Butte, as far away as Missoula and in North Fork, Salmon and in Elk City, Idaho, according to the U.S. Geological Survey website.
This is on the lower end. The kinds of things we’d see is cracked plaster, maybe cracked windows or on an old house with a chimney with poor brick it might cause some damage to that,
said John Bellini, with the USGS National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo.
In-depth engineering inspections are being done on dams and buildings in the area. So far Ruby River Dam and irrigation dams in the Tobacco Root Mountains have been inspected and reported to be fine.
Though the quake did not cause much damage and was only a jolt, yet every earthquake reminds of the memories of severest of earthquakes recorded earlier.
via:Usatoday
