Nevada shaken by M5.5 earthquake near Silver Springs; experts say bigger quakes are possible
LYON COUNTY, Nev. — A magnitude 5.5 earthquake centered about 12 miles from Silver Springs shook western Nevada Monday night drawing consideration to one of many state’s most energetic seismic areas.
Kyren Bogolub, a community seismologist with the UNR Laboratory, mentioned the quake ranks among the many greatest in Nevada in a long time.
“I want to say in the last 60 years or so, I think it’s about the seventh largest earthquake in Nevada,” Bogolub mentioned.
Part of exercise alongside Walker Lane
The shaking is the most recent earthquake tied to the Walker Lane — a extremely energetic system of faults operating for about 600 miles alongside the Nevada-California border.
“So the Walker Lane is probably the most seismically active part of Nevada,” Bogolub mentioned. “It’s not necessarily where we have the largest earthquakes, but it’s where we have the most.”
Bogolub added she would not be stunned to see a bigger quake within the area sooner or later.
“I would say getting a magnitude 7 wouldn’t be shocking to me,” she mentioned.
UNR medical college students run earthquake catastrophe coaching
Farther north on the University of Nevada, Reno, about 180 medical college students took half in a coaching train Tuesday centered on responding after a serious earthquake — together with a situation the place the variety of sufferers exceeds obtainable area.
“Nevada is the third most seismically active state in the Union, following California and Alaska, so it is absolutely plausible that we could have this situation,” mentioned Jennifer Delaney, UNR’s coaching and train coordinator. She mentioned the drill provides college students expertise they’ll draw on later of their careers.
The coaching was scheduled earlier than Monday’s earthquake, however college students mentioned the timing made the message extra actual.
“It was… very interesting timing… to have an earthquake like that happen just one day before we had a training,” UNR medical scholar Ozzie Tavares mentioned. “I think it made us all take it a lot more seriously… Nevada is always at risk for something like this to happen.”
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