USGS Issues False 5.9 Quake Alert Near Nevada

The U.S. Geological Survey issued a false earthquake alert on Thursday morning, reporting a magnitude 5.9 temblor near Dayton, Nevada, that prompted widespread warnings across Northern California but turned out to be a system error with no actual shaking detected.

The alert originated at 8:06 a.m. from the USGS's automatic earthquake detection system, which initially described a 4-mile-deep quake centered about 12 miles northeast of Carson City, roughly 20 miles from the state capital and 45 miles from Reno in Lyon County. The notification triggered ShakeAlert messages on cellphones throughout the region, instructing recipients to "Drop! Cover! Hold On!" The warnings reached as far as Sacramento, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo and Los Angeles, causing brief moments of alarm among residents.

By 8:45 a.m., the USGS canceled the alerts via its ShakeAlert account on X, formerly Twitter. "There was no M5.9 earthquake near Carson City, NV," the agency posted. "We are currently looking into why the alerts were issued." A USGS spokesperson described the report as "a bogus event" and confirmed that the organization had deleted its online information page about the supposed quake. Local...