False alert of 5.9-magnitude earthquake sparks confusion in Nevada, California

By STACY LIBERATORE, US SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR and CHRIS MELORE, US ASSISTANT SCIENCE EDITOR

Published: | Updated:

A false alarm claiming a major earthquake had just struck the western US sparked confusion and panic Thursday morning. According to an alert from the US Geological Survey (USGS) just after 11am ET (8am local), a powerful 5.9 magnitude earthquake was recorded just east of Carson City, Nevada . This false alarm, which was later deleted by USGS, set off alerts and seismic warnings in California 's Bay Area, less than 200 miles away, which has been preparing for a massive earthquake for decades .

A false alarm claiming a major earthquake had just struck the western US sparked confusion and panic Thursday morning. According to an alert from the US Geological Survey (USGS) just after 11am ET (8am local), a powerful 5.9 magnitude earthquake was recorded just east of Carson City, Nevada . This false alarm, which was later deleted by USGS, set off alerts and seismic warnings in California 's Bay Area, less than 200 miles away, which has been preparing for a massive earthquake for decades .

The MyShake app, which reports on data coming from the USGS-controlled ShakeAlert system, wrote on social media: 'This was a false alert by the #ShakeAlert system and this is currently being investigated.' The confusion reached major coastal cities like San Francisco, just 185 miles from the epicenter of the erroneous seismic event , and sent frightening alerts to people's phones throughout the region. 'Phones blasting alerts across Nevada and California to Drop, Cover, Hold On! Aftershocks coming,' one person posted on social media.

The MyShake app, which reports on data coming from the USGS-controlled ShakeAlert system, wrote on social media: 'This was a false alert by the #ShakeAlert system and this is currently being investigated.' The confusion reached major coastal cities like San Francisco, just 185 miles from the epicenter of the erroneous seismic event , and sent frightening alerts to people's phones throughout the region. 'Phones blasting alerts across Nevada and California to Drop, Cover, Hold On! Aftershocks coming,' one person posted on social media.

California Governor's Office of Emergency Services confirmed on their X account that false alerts were sent out 'to a broad audience in Northern California.' 'Cal OES is coordinating with our Nevada and federal partners to understand exactly what the federally run monitoring system detected and why,' the agency added. This is a breaking story. More details to follow. 'No earthquake false alarm! Someone got trigger happy after all the earthquake talk,' another social media user posted on X.

California Governor's Office of Emergency Services confirmed on their X account that false alerts were sent out 'to a broad audience in Northern California.' 'Cal OES is coordinating with our Nevada and federal partners to understand exactly what the federally run monitoring system detected and why,' the agency added. This is a breaking story. More details to follow. 'No earthquake false alarm! Someone got trigger happy after all the earthquake talk,' another social media user posted on X.

USGS released a statement responding to the criticism from Cal OES, saying that the agency would 'provide more information when we learn more.' The MyShake app called the false alarm 'unprecedented and rare,' adding that their alert system had provided over 170 accurate alert since 2019. The MyShake app sends out a buzzing alert to all of its users for earthquakes stronger than magnitude 4.5. Yaareb Al Taweel, a geophysicist with USGS, told the San Francisco Chronicle: 'If you sign up to receive those messages, it doesn't matter where you're at, you will receive this message on your email or phone.'

USGS released a statement responding to the criticism from Cal OES, saying that the agency would 'provide more information when we learn more.' The MyShake app called the false alarm 'unprecedented and rare,' adding that their alert system had provided over 170 accurate alert since 2019. The MyShake app sends out a buzzing alert to all of its users for earthquakes stronger than magnitude 4.5. Yaareb Al Taweel, a geophysicist with USGS, told the San Francisco Chronicle: 'If you sign up to receive those messages, it doesn't matter where you're at, you will receive this message on your email or phone.'

While the mistaken notification may have been unprecedented for MyShake, it wasn't the first significant false alarm to panic Californians this year. In March 14, USGS erroneously posted on its website that a magnitude 4.6 earthquake had been detected near Bombay Beach in San Diego. Just as they did with Thursday's alert, USGS deleted the March 14 post from its live map about two hours later. Northern California, where a large number of Americans received the false alert, has been warned that there is an extremely high chance of a major earthquake striking the region within the next 30 years.

While the mistaken notification may have been unprecedented for MyShake, it wasn't the first significant false alarm to panic Californians this year. In March 14, USGS erroneously posted on its website that a magnitude 4.6 earthquake had been detected near Bombay Beach in San Diego. Just as they did with Thursday's alert, USGS deleted the March 14 post from its live map about two hours later. Northern California, where a large number of Americans received the false alert, has been warned that there is an extremely high chance of a major earthquake striking the region within the next 30 years.

Sarah Minson from USGS revealed in May that the chances of the long-feared 'Big One' striking San Francisco by 2055 have risen to a staggering 72 percent. While Minson believed there may be some time left for Californians to prepare for this natural disaster, USGS disagreed and warned on their website that the first major earthquake could come in just seven years. A magnitude 5.9 earthquake would have been considered by seismic officials as an extremely 'moderate' quake and potentially a 'strong' quake if it reached magnitude 6.0.

Sarah Minson from USGS revealed in May that the chances of the long-feared 'Big One' striking San Francisco by 2055 have risen to a staggering 72 percent. While Minson believed there may be some time left for Californians to prepare for this natural disaster, USGS disagreed and warned on their website that the first major earthquake could come in just seven years. A magnitude 5.9 earthquake would have been considered by seismic officials as an extremely 'moderate' quake and potentially a 'strong' quake if it reached magnitude 6.0.

Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.