Remote region of Nevada gets an early morning shakeup
USGS (United States Geological Service) reported a 6.5 magnitude earthquake that hit the Nevada early Friday, May 15th, 2020. The quake was upgraded from the first reported magnitude of 6.4 to 6.5 an hour after the initial hit. The quake happened at approximately 4:03 a.m. east of Sierra Nevada, 35 miles from Tonopah near the California/Nevada border. The first temblor, according to USGS, struck 4.7 miles deep and resulted in dozens of aftershocks, some of which were of a magnitude high enough to have been felt throughout the region – ranging from 3.0 to 5.1 with many above the 4.0 threshold.
Director of the Nevada Seismology Laboratory, Graham Kent explained that the state has not experienced an earthquake close the magnitude felt on May 15th since the year December 1954 when two temblors of 6.8 and 7.1 magnitude hit the city of Fallon, Nevada.
Tweets began to pop up from residents ranging from Salt Lake City, Utah to Central Valley in California confirming that they felt the earthquake. Due to the quake hitting near the border of Nevada and California, and although the epicenter was in a remote region, many people were able to feel the quake. USGS revealed that more than 15,000 “Did You Feel It?” reports were submitted.
As yet, there have been no reports of casualties, however Esmeralda County Sheriff’s Office shared photos of the US 95 Highway damage resulting in portions of US95 and Nevada 360 Junction in Mineral County being closed for repairs.
On July 4th and 5th of last year, a large rolling earthquake, centered 11 miles from Ridgecrest, CA with a magnitude of 7.1 hit California and was felt all the way to Mexico.
Each time a quake of sufficient magnitude to get all of us to take notice occurs, we are reminded that, living near various active fault lines, it is not a question of “if” a large quake will happen, but only “when”. Therefore it is always good advice to prepare and be ready, even if we happen already to be in the middle of a different type of emergency.
Helpful tips on how to prepare for when the next big one hits
- Download maps in .pdf format and store on a laptop (keep it charged). Or just get some of those old fashioned paper maps.
- Learn CPR: go to a class and be the one ready to save those around you.
- For homeowners: check the structural integrity of your foundation. Double-check your earthquake insurance policy.
- Keep extra water (lots of it) in your home as well as food and other supplies such as medicine, first aid kit and other essentials. Keep empty, safe water containers around to fill for extra H2O. Enough for at least a week or two is advised
- Be sure that there is some cash hidden for this occasion; ATM machines can also be out for extended periods after a very large temblor.
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