There were two regions of destructions. It appears that the land Bountiful might have been a refuge from the worst of the destructions, based on the descriptions that will come for that city. Thus, the two regions are south of Bountiful, and north of Bountiful. Even though there are two locations, the nature of the destruction is similar in both.
Geologists looking at the descriptions of the destruction note that all of the elements are best explained by a volcanic event. The thunderings and lightnings are demonstrated aspects of some volcanic events, and spectacular photographs of the associated lightnings are available on the Internet. Volcanic eruptions are also often accompanied by earthquakes. The reason that the descriptions require a volcano and not just an earthquake comes from the descriptions of the thunderings and shakings lasting for hours. Earthquakes clearly shake the earth, but for minutes, not hours.