On Thursday, residents in northern Nevada received an alert warning of a significant earthquake that never occurred. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported at 08:06 local time that a magnitude 5.9 earthquake had struck near Carson City, prompting alarms as far away as the San Francisco Bay Area.
Within minutes, the alert was retracted as the USGS confirmed no seismic activity had taken place. There was no M5.9 earthquake near Carson City, NV, the agency stated on social media.
The erroneous alert was generated by the USGS's automatic earthquake detection system, marking a rare incident where a completely false earthquake notification was issued. An investigation has been launched to ascertain the cause of the glitch.
Multiple law enforcement agencies in the vicinity reported no signs of tremor, alleviating concerns in the affected communities. Although a magnitude 5.9 quake is sufficient to induce noticeable shaking and potential minor damage, the false alarm caught many off guard.
