Would a Magnitude 7.5 Earthquake Devastate Montrose Colorado?
You've no doubt heard about the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday, which devastated the area and killed more than 7,700 people. This earthquake has become one of the deadliest earthquakes of the century and is an undeniable tragedy.
Colorado is no stranger to earthquakes, and you can learn more about some of the most infamous in our history in the gallery below. Right now, as the world reels in the immediate wake of the recent devastation, you can't help but wonder if something like that could happen here...
Denver's FOX31 looked to answer that question, using what appears to be the severe weather screen to illustrate how a strong earthquake would affect Colorado. According to experts, the highest magnitude that they estimate would be realistic, though still unexpected for Colorado, would be magnitude 7.5, so that's the model on which they based their projections.
Alamosa and the surrounding area would be hit by such an earthquake the hardest, it seems, suffering building damage according to the model. Projections indicate that the force of the quake would make an impression as far up as Denver, though it would just be making the ground shake by then.
Delta may see similar effects, though this model projects that we'd mostly miss things, here in Montrose. We can all let out a collective sigh of relief. That being said, you never really know what the planet Earth is going to do, and nowhere is that more apparent than the devastation we're seeing this week in Turkey and Syria.
If you'd like to help the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, you can find more information here.