Courtesy Carl Poston

See the destruction from Wells

WELLS, NV - Another day - another abnormal occurrence in nature across Idaho. After a meteor Tuesday and a lunar eclipse Wednesday - a strong earthquake shook across much of the Intermountain West Thursday.

The initial quake happened at 7:16 a.m. MST near Wells, Nevada. It had a magnitude of 6.0 - and was felt across the region - including Salt Lake City, Boise, Twin Falls, Shoshone, Pocatello, Jordan Valley, Oregon and other locations.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the first quake shook near the Nevada-Utah line, and caused the most damage in Wells, Nevada - a town of about 1,350 residents.

According to an Elko County commissioner, a state of emergency has been declared for Elko County, which includes Wells.

A USGS geologist noted that the quake is exceedingly rare.

"This is not expected, not a normal place to have an earthquake like that," said Angel Gutierrez with the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colo.

"Nevada is sitting on a geological province that is pulling apart," Lee Liberty, a Boise State research scientist said. "It's extending a couple of millimeters every year. And what happens on occasion is it pulls apart and instead of a nice smooth extension it breaks. It breaks the crust in the earth and you get an earthquake."

This is the worst quake in the area since 1905.

"Federal assessment teams will come in and add up the total damage," Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons said. "If it meets the threshold, we're going to make an immediate request to the president for a federal declaration of an emergency."

"Wells is a tough community, and is going to rise again out of the rubble you see here today," he said.

Gibbons estimated the damage at several million dollars.

A water main break caused some flooding in the area. Several buildings saw damage - some significant. A roof partially collapsed on one building, knocking over a sign and sending debris into city streets.

Mike Nanini of Four Way Casino in Wells told NBC News that a small part of his roof collapsed and that his casino was a mess. He said the quake lasted for almost two minutes and about eight slot machines were on the floor.

"I was just sitting up on my bed and I was stilling there and the power went off and the TV falls, and everything that was moveable was moving," June O'Neal - who lives in Wells said.

The Wells Elementary School is closed today, and art teacher Mike Spears told NewsChannel 7 that his classroom is "a mess."

There are reports of minor injuries - including a broken arm.

Residents in Wells have been told to boil their water until further notice.

Courtesy Darron Thompson

The Flying J truck stop in Wells, NV had debris scattered everywhere after the quake

Managers at the Flying J truck stop cleared out the building after a propane leak. The leak has been capped, and there are no reports of damage or further problems.

A resident said roughly 80 percent of windows in Wells have been blown out. Aftershocks continue to be felt - as many as 20 had been recorded by early evening.

The Nevada Highway Patrol closed down a 68-mile stretch of Highway 93 from Jackpot to Wells while they worked to inspect bridges and the road. The highway reopened just after 11:30 a.m. MT.

"People are safe, and we haven't had any reports of severe physical injury," Wells Mayor Rusty Tybo said.

"It was pretty bad," said Jane Kelso, who answered the phone at the Motel 6 in Wells. "Everything in our whole building shook. We have cracks in our walls." However, the hotel is still open.

In Twin Falls, residents reported severe shaking and items falling off shelves.

Reports into NewsChannel 7 say residents in Elko, Nevada said the ground shook for roughly 30 seconds, then people felt another aftershock five to ten minutes later.

A Transportation Security Administration official said the Elko Airport was closed down for a short time after the initial earthquake, but reopened shortly thereafter.

One caller in Utah said their chandelier shook and their home earthquake alarm went off.

In Wendover, along the Nevada-Utah border, Tammy Wadsworth was ironing clothes when the quake hit.

"I kept thinking, 'When is it going to quit?' A couple pictures fell off the walls," she said. "One of my grandkids ran outside. They didn't know what else to do. It scared them."

The temblor was felt across eastern Nevada, Utah and as far away as Southern California.

- NewsChannel 7s Ysabel Bilbao, Carolyn Holly, Edgar Linares, The Associated Press, KSL & NBC contributed to this report

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USGS reports of people who felt the quake

See the quake reports from USGS

SE Idaho coverage from LocalNews8.com

Seimic expert explains what happened