6.5-Magnitude Quake Rattles Nevada

An earthquake with a revised magnitude of 6.5 hit Nevada on Friday morning, about 225 miles northwest of Las Vegas near the California border, the US Geological Survey says.

The quake occurred at 4:03 a.m. local time, the USGS says. It was 4.7 miles deep. At least four aftershocks were reported. It was about 35 miles west of the town of Tonopah, east of the Sierra Nevada range.

"There have been almost 8,000 ’Did you feel it’ reports, with people logging into USGS to report it," Laustsen said. The USGS gave an initial report of a 6.4 magnitude.

The revised ranking makes the quake the first large one since 1954, said Graham Kent, director of the Nevada Seismological Laboratory.

"As the third most seismic state in the nation, we kind of had a streak of not having big earthquakes for 66 years," Kent said.
"This was a magnitude 6.5, and it was certainly felt in the Reno-Tahoe area, and also throughout the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys in California," Kent said.