Earthquake hits Reno Thursday afternoon
BREAKING NEWS
An earthquake has hit downtown Reno, according to the Associated Press.
The tremors evidently shook buildings, but there are no immediate reports of damage.
The U.S. Geological Survey measured a magnitude 4.2 quake just before 4 p.m. Thursday and was centered 4 miles west-northwest of Reno.
The survey says the quake followed smaller ones just beforehand. Several small quakes have been centered in the area in recent weeks.
RENO, Nev. (AP) - A series of earthquakes capped by a 4.2 magnitude quake rattled Reno this afternoon, shaking downtown buildings though there were no immediate reports of damage.
The 4.2 temblor hit at 3:55 p.m. and was centered four miles northwest of Reno, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It shook downtown Reno for about 30 seconds and caused buildings to sway.
The Geological Survey said it followed a 3.8 magnitude trembler at 3:47 p.m. and was accompanied by at least seven other small quakes in the area measuring 1.7 and above.
Only the 3.8 and 4.1 events were felt in downtown Reno.
Reno police spokesman Steve Frady said there were no immediate reports of damage.
"We felt it over here, but nothing came off the walls," he said from police headquarters on the east edge of downtown. "The (police) radio has been relatively quiet considering."
The quakes are centered in an area where scores of smaller ones have been centered in recent weeks. Temblors of magnitude 2 and higher have been occurring about every three days since a swarm of widely felt earthquakes began Feb. 28, said John Anderson of the University of Nevada, Reno's seismology laboratory.
"Since April 15, there have been three a day," he said.
Anderson said the bulk of them through Wednesday appeared to be centered just west of Reno near the U.S. Interstate 80 interchange for Mogul.
