Reno, Nevada Earthquake

LakeTahoe

Active Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2004
Messages
14,192
Reaction score
0
YIKES! That is my OLD hometown!!! I called my friend and she said she felt 4 or 5 times in ONE week! :eek:

Reno, Nevada Earthquake

RENO, Nevada (AP) -- Scientists urged residents of northern Nevada's largest city to prepare for a bigger event as the area continued rumbling Saturday after the largest earthquake in a two-month-long series of temblors.
art.quake.ap.jpg


A man cleans up the groceries that toppled from the shelves at a store in Reno after Friday night's earthquake.

More than 100 aftershocks were recorded on the western edge of the city after a magnitude-4.7 quake hit Friday night, the strongest quake around Reno since one measuring 5.2 in 1953, said researchers at the seismological laboratory at the University of Nevada, Reno.

The latest quake swept store shelves clean, cracked walls in homes and dislodged rocks on hillsides, but there were no reports of injuries or widespread major damage.

Seismologists said the recent activity is unusual because the quakes started out small and continue to build in strength. The normal pattern is for a main quake followed by smaller aftershocks.

"A magnitude-6 quake wouldn't be a scientific surprise," John Anderson, director of the seismological lab, said Saturday. "We certainly hope residents are taking the threat seriously after last night."

But Anderson stressed that there was no way to predict what would happen and said the sequence of quakes also could end without a major one.

Reno's last major quake measured 6.1 on April 24, 1914, and was felt as far away as Berkeley, California, said Craig dePolo, research geologist with the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology.
Don't Miss

* Midwest quake felt far and wide

A rockslide triggered by Friday night's quake was blamed in a 125-foot breach in a wooden flume that carries water to one of two water treatment plants in Reno, a city of about 210,000.

A backup pump was used to divert water to the plant, and the breach was not expected to cause any water shortages, said Aaron Kenneston, Washoe County emergency management officer.

The U.S. Geological Survey said Friday night's quake was centered around Mogul, just west of Reno. The area of upscale homes along the eastern Sierra was rattled by more than 100 quakes the day before, the strongest a magnitude-4.2 that caused high-rise casinos to sway in downtown Reno.

The strongest aftershock measured 3.7 and was recorded after noon Saturday.

Mike Lentini of Reno said Friday night's quake felt "like a big truck hit the building" and awakened his family.

"It's the unknown. It's shaking, and when's it going to stop?" he said Saturday. "And when stuff starts falling off the shelves, it's a whole other ballgame."

Jars of mayonnaise and bottles of ketchup and shampoo fell from shelves at a Wal-Mart store in northwest Reno. Overhead televisions swayed at a sports bar in Sparks, 11 miles east, where bartender Shawn Jones said the rumble was significantly stronger than Thursday's event.

"The bottles were shaking, so I sent everybody outside," he said.

Hundreds of mostly minor quakes have occurred along one or possibly more faults since the sequence began February 28, said Ken Smith, a seismologist at the Reno laboratory. The quakes have occurred along an area about 2 miles long and a half-mile wide.

"We can't put a number on it, but the probability of a major earthquake has increased with this sequence," Smith said Saturday. "People need to prepare for ground shaking, because there's no way to say how this will play out."

Among other things, scientists urged residents to stock up on water and food, to learn how to turn off water and gas, and to strap down bookshelves, televisions and computers.

"It's getting a little bit frightening," resident Daryl DiBitonto told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "I'm very concerned about this increase in not only activity but also in magnitude."

The quakes around Reno began a week after a magnitude-6 temblor in the northern Nevada town of Wells, near the Utah border. The February 21 quake caused an estimated $778,000 in damage to homes, schools and historic downtown buildings, dePolo said.

Scientists said they're unsure whether the seismic activity at opposite sides of Nevada is related.
advertisement

Nevada is the third most seismically active state in the U.S., behind California and Alaska. The Wells quake was the 15th of at least magnitude 6 in the state's 143-year history.

A magnitude-7.4 quake south of Winnemucca in 1915 is the most powerful in state history.
 
Wow! And if you're at Tohoe, you're right in the middle of two of the worst states for 'quakes. Do you feel them so high up?

Those we felt in Montana usually made mountains move. Scary.
 
That's scary...hope they dont become more powerful.
 
I used to live in Reno for 15 years and now I am in Rochester, NY. :)

I called my friend to check..she's fine but I haven't contact my dad and my aunt. I will today. My dad lives in Carson City and my aunt live in South Reno.

Wow! And if you're at Tohoe, you're right in the middle of two of the worst states for 'quakes. Do you feel them so high up?

Those we felt in Montana usually made mountains move. Scary.
 
I read the news this morning online and I was like wow! just like Midwest not long ago and now? dang!

I hope the people will be ready for the earthquake. My prayers for them to stay safe.
 
Wow, that's crazy! It's Rattle in Reno! It doesn't look like a big quake but caused lot of minor damage.
 
Oh, my! Maybe, we ALL will experience all different kinds of things like tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, and everything this year ? First there was tornadoes in VA and now, earthquakes in Nevada. :ugh3: Trends ?

I hope that everything don't ripple after one to another.
 
Back
Top