Thursday afternoon, with people reporting feeling a jolt hundreds of miles away, as far as the Bay Area.
The earthquake, which struck just south of Lake Tahoe, triggered a series of aftershocks, including at least one with a magnitude of 4.6, according to the USGS.
According to Graham Kent, director of the University of Nevada, Reno’s seismological lab, “this would be the largest one in almost two and a half decades.” “It’s 5.9 and change — it’s a magnitude 6.0 to the average person.”
The false report, which was initially reported as at least two separate earthquakes, was caused by an automatic systems error, according to Seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones on Twitter. One reported quake a few miles south of Stockton in central California was removed from the report by the USGS.
“A M6 quake is usually felt for more than 100 miles,” Jones said, “so it’s not surprising it was felt in the Central Valley.”
The tremors were felt in at least two states, and by 6 p.m. local time, the USGS website had received over 20,000 reports.
North of the reported epicenter in Reno, City Hall was evacuated after the earthquake, said Mayor Hillary Schieve.
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The buildings were felt shaking and people ran due to the earthquake.
Sally Rosen, who owns a popular burger restaurant in Walker, near the epicenter, told the Associated Press her 2-year-old was napping in her arms in her home behind the restaurant when the earthquake hit.
“We felt the shaking of the building, and we didn’t know quite what it was at first,” she told KGO-TV in San Francisco. “It kept going, and it was pretty intense and scary, frankly. So we ran out of the house as fast as we could and ran to the restaurant because the first thought was, ‘Oh my goodness, we need to shut off the gas.’”
Cups and other items flew off the shelves, and oil splattered from the fryers, she said.
On Twitter, people posted videos of the aftermath on U.S. 395 through Lake Tahoe. The route was closed temporarily because of rock slides. A California Highway Patrol spokesperson told the Stockton Record, part of the USA TODAY Network, that some cars were hit by rocks, but no one was injured.
The earthquake was felt for at least a minute at the National Weather Service offices in Sacramento, according to a tweet. “The blinds are moving. “Light shaking movement/building motion.”
Other Twitter users reported water in their pools or fountains, as well as the shakiness of their windows.
“While no preliminary reports of damage or injuries have been received, this is a rapidly evolving situation, and more information will be available in the coming hours.” The California Office of Emergency Services announced the news on Twitter. “We’re working closely with local officials to make sure they have the resources and support they need to respond quickly to these quakes.”
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