4.7 Quake Followed By 50 Aftershocks As Reno Keeps Rumbling

Updated: 10:12 PM Apr 26, 2008

More than 50 aftershocks were recorded on the west edge of Reno after the largest earthquake in a two-month-long swarm of temblors dumped cans off shelves, knocked pictures off walls and pushed rocks off hillsides along the Sierra Nevada.

Posted: 11:45 PM Apr 25, 2008
Reporter: By SCOTT SONNER, Associated Press Writer

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RENO, Nev. (AP) - More than 50 aftershocks were recorded on the
west edge of Reno after the largest earthquake in a two-month-long
swarm of temblors dumped cans off shelves, knocked pictures off
walls and pushed rocks off hillsides along the Sierra Nevada.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or major damage early Saturday, but the magnitude 4.7 quake that hit at 11:40 p.m. Friday cracked walls in northwest residential areas, broke lawn watering lines and damaged a wooden flume built along the Truckee River in the late 1800s to carry lumber from Lake Tahoe down the mountain to Reno.

It was the strongest quake to shake the city in a series of much smaller events in the area since the end of February.

The U.S. Geological Survey said Friday night's temblor was centered six miles west of Reno near Mogul, where a swarm of more than 100 quakes rattled the area the day before. The strongest of those was a magnitude 4.2 that caused high-rise hotels to sway in the downtown casino district.

"The earthquake was strongly felt in west Reno and felt throughout the Reno metropolitan area," the University of Nevada, Reno's seismology lab said in a statement early Saturday.

The 4.7 quake originally was estimated to be 4.9, the USGS said, but revised downward after more details were available. Of the more than 50 aftershocks, only eight were bigger than 2.0, including a 3.7 aftershock that was recorded at 12:29 a.m. Saturday.

The initial quake was felt 30 miles north in Portola, Calif., and at least 45 miles south near Stateline, Nev., on Lake Tahoe's south shore.

"This one has been so active, it is so interesting," said Glenn Biasi, a seismologist at UNR's lab.

"They have swarms in California, but to my knowledge I'm unaware of one that each evening makes the evening news and is bigger than the one before."

Jars of mayonnaise, bottles of ketchup and shampoo fell from shelves at a Wal-Mart store in northwest Reno late Friday night. It caused the overhead televisions to sway at a sports bar in neighboring 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.

Scientists said earlier Friday that Reno faces a "small increase" in the chance of a major earthquake in the aftermath of the seismic activity.

"The persistence of this particular earthquake sequence slightly increases the probability for a significant earthquake in west Reno," the UNR lab said. "However, the occurrence of additional earthquake activity in the Mogul area cannot be predicted or forecast."

Ken Smith, a seismologist at the university lab, said the recent activity around Reno is unusual in that the quakes started out small and continue to build in strength. The normal pattern is for a main quake followed by smaller aftershocks, such as the Feb. 21 quake in the northern Nevada town of Wells.

The magnitude 6 temblor in Wells, 350 miles east of Reno, has been followed by hundreds of smaller aftershocks.

"If the pattern continues we may be looking at a larger event" in the Reno area, Smith said Friday. "We wouldn't be surprised to see it (swarm) end at any time and it also wouldn't be surprising to see a large earthquake. The bottom line is we don't know what will happen."

Reno's last major quake occurred at 12:34 a.m. on April 24, 1914. The 6.1 temblor awakened people as far away as Sacramento, Calif., prompted people to rush out of Reno saloons and hotel lobbies into streets and toppled chimneys, said Craig dePolo, research geologist with Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology.
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On the Net:
U.S. Geological Survey: http://www.usgs.gov
University of Nevada, Reno, seismology lab: www.seismo.unr.educ

AP-NY-04-26-08 0816EDT

Latest Comments

Posted by: DOLLY Location: FALLON on May 26, 2008 at 09:23 AM

AT 5AM IN FALLON NEVADA, I FELT SOMETHING AT 5 AM, LIKE A EARTHQUAKE, A FRIEND WHO LIVES ABOUT 3 MILES FROM HE SHE SAID SHE FELT THE SAME THING AND HER DOG STARTED BARKING, I LIVE IN AN APARTMENT AND I THOUGHT SOMEONE FELL OUT OF BED,

Posted by: Dean Simar Location: North Reno on Apr 27, 2008 at 11:15 AM

We're out and about, traveling the Back-Roads of America, but we heard about the shaker taking place in Reno, I've been in touch with my Granddaughter, who is taking care of our residence, while we're gone, and she said, no damage, but she felt several of them. All is well, out here in the heartland of America, but it seems like every place we go, the people are saying, " spring is late this year " , we was in the Tulsa area a couple days ago, and they have had lots of rain this spring, everything is water-logged. I hope everything gets back to normal in the Reno area, --- From D n V Simar, on the Back-Roads of America.

Posted by: Kelly Location: Spanish Springs on Apr 27, 2008 at 10:47 AM

Eh, I haven't felt a thing yet - I think maybe I am immune since I did grow up in Cali and have felt a dozen big ones ..atleast ! LOL let's rock n roll

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