Western Nevada is rattled by 6.5-magnitude earthquake and two strong aftershocks, which are felt as far as Utah and Northern California
- The quake struck at 4:03 a.m. near the Nevada-California border, about 35 miles west of Tonopah, said the U.S. Geological Service
- The temblor was given a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 but the USGS later upgraded it to a 6.5
- More than a dozen sizable aftershocks were recorded after the mainshock
- The quake was felt by people from Salt Lake City, Utah, to San Francisco’s Bay Area with many taking to social media to share the news
- The USGS has put the area on a green alert – the lowest alert level – for both fatalities and economic impact
Western Nevada was rattled by a 6.5-magnitude earthquake and two strong aftershocks Friday morning, which were felt as far as Utah and Northern California.
The quake struck at 4:03 a.m. local time near the Nevada-California border, with people in both states – as well as Utah – reporting feeling the tremor.
It hit about 35 miles west of Tonopah, just east of the Sierra Nevada range and around halfway between Las Vegas and Reno, according to reports from the U.S. Geological Service.
The temblor was given a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 but the USGS later upgraded it to a 6.5.
Western Nevada was rattled by a 6.5-magnitude earthquake and two strong aftershocks Friday morning, which were felt as far as Utah and Northern California
The USGS said the initial quake struck about 4.7 miles deep and more than a dozen sizable aftershocks were recorded in the first hour after the mainshock.
A magnitude-4.6 aftershock struck the same general area about 14 minutes later, followed by another of magnitude-4.9.
The largest aftershock was felt about 23 minutes after the mainshock, when a 5.1 aftershock hit, the USGS reported.
The quake was felt widely by residents in Reno, Las Vegas and Eastern Sierra.
The quake struck at 4:03 a.m. local time near the Nevada-California border (pictured), with people in both states – as well as Utah – reporting feeling the tremor
The temblor was given a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 but the USGS later upgraded it to a 6.5
But it was also felt by people as far afield as Salt Lake City, Utah, and the San Francisco Bay Area, according to reports on social media.
One woman in Sacramento posted on Twitter early Friday: ‘I felt #earthquake about 35 minutes ago from my home south of Sacramento. A few minutes later reports of 6.2 magnitude near Tonopah Nevada. I hope everyone is ok!’
Another posted a meme of a man saying ‘I don’t want it’ alongside a post that read: ‘When you move to Nevada to get farther away from the big one, but the earthquakes follow you.’
Another Nevada resident described the quake as ‘intense’.
‘#Nevada we just had an #earthquake that was so intense think it just shook the whole state,’ they posted.
Many people also posted footage of the movement felt inside their homes.
One person shared a video of the light fixture in their California home swinging back and forth from the quake.
’12 floors up in Fresno California! #earthquake’ the post read.
Someone in Nevada also shared footage of a plant shaking in their room as they felt the quake.
The USGS had received more than 16,600 reports from people who said they had felt the quake, through its ‘Did You Feel It?’ reporting tool, as of 11:02a.m. local time.
Perceived shaking for the quake was strong to very strong, it said, but the likelihood of casualties and damage is low.
The USGS has put the area on a green alert – the lowest alert level – for both fatalities and economic impact.
The quake is the result of strike slip faulting in the shallow crust of the North America plate, the NSGS reported.
Around five earthquakes of a similar magnitude strike California and Nevada every year.
An earthquake is not considered major until it reaches magnitude-7.0 or above.