Utah was just hit by giant hail that smashed cars as a rare tornado touched down—but scientists say an even more alarming threat is silently tearing the ground apart beneath the state. Fissures have opened across rural areas like Cedar Valley and Enoch, cracking for miles as aquifers drain faster than they recharge.
Ground fissures in Utah have opened across rural areas in recent years, creating deep cracks in the earth that can extend for miles. The Utah Geological Survey attributes them largely to groundwater depletion. When aquifers are drained faster than they can recharge, the soil loses structural support and collapses. In some cases, the ground settles unevenly over buried bedrock ridges, causing the s…