March 31, 2020 earthquake in Idaho

On March 31, 2020 at 5:52 PM there was a magnitude 6.5 earthquake here in Idaho. It was centered about 78 miles from Boise, in the mountains near Stanley (population ~60) and about 40 miles east from Cascade (population ~1000). A USA Today article by Steve Kiggins was titled ‘The floor was moving’: 6.5 earthquake strikes in Idaho, largest in the state since 1963. An Idaho Statesman article by Ruth Brown on April 1, 2020 was titled 60-plus aftershocks follow magnitude 6.5 earthquake in Idaho, avalanche closes Idaho 21. No one was killed but 3 of 4 stone crosses on a church here in Boise were damaged. This minor crisis gave us a break from thinking about coronavirus.

The 6.5 magnitude for this quake is just slightly smaller than the 6.7 for the 1994 Northridge Earthquake which occurred in a Los Angeles neighborhood and killed 57 people.