An alert sent Thursday announcing a strong earthquake in northern Nevada was issued in error, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
At 8:06 a.m. local time, the USGS reported that a magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck near Carson City, the state capital. The alert reached people nearly 200 miles away in the San Francisco Bay Area, triggering automatic warnings advising residents to take shelter.
However, the agency then canceled the alert minutes later and removed the corresponding entry from its website.
“There was no M5.9 earthquake near Carson City, NV,” the USGS said on X.
The USGS said the alert came from its automatic earthquake detection system, which generated the report in error. He added that this was probably the first time the agency had issued a completely false earthquake notification.
An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the malfunction.
Multiple law enforcement agencies in cities and counties near the reported epicenter confirmed the absence of any ground movement.
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake is typically strong enough to cause noticeable shaking and minor property damage, according to the Michigan Tech Earthquake Magnitude Scale.
