Posted on 04/26/2008 8:24:44 PM PDT by BenLurkin
RENO, Nev. (AP) ― Scientists urged residents of northern Nevada's largest city to prepare for a bigger event as the area continued rumbling Saturday after the largest earthquake in a two-month-long series of temblors.
More than 100 aftershocks were recorded on the western edge of the city after a magnitude 4.7 quake hit Friday night, the strongest quake around Reno since one measuring 5.2 in 1953, said researchers at the seismological laboratory at the University of Nevada, Reno.
The latest quake swept store shelves clean, cracked walls in homes and dislodged rocks on hillsides, but there were no reports of injuries or widespread major damage.
Seismologists said the recent activity is unusual because the quakes started out small and continue to build in strength. The normal pattern is for a main quake followed by smaller aftershocks.
"A magnitude 6 quake wouldn't be a scientific surprise," John Anderson, director of the seismological lab, said Saturday. "We certainly hope residents are taking the threat seriously after last night."
But Anderson stressed there was no way to predict what would happen, and said the sequence of quakes also could end without a major one.
Reno's last major quake measured 6.1 on April 24, 1914, and was felt as far away as Berkeley, Calif., said Craig dePolo, research geologist with the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology.
A rockslide triggered by Friday night's quake was blamed for causing a 125-foot breach in a wooden flume that carries water to one of two water treatment plants in Reno, a city of about 210,000.
A backup pump was used to divert water to the plant, and the breach was not expected to cause any water shortages, said Aaron Kenneston, Washoe County emergency management officer.
The U.S. Geological Survey said Friday night's quake was centered around Mogul, just west of Reno. The area of upscale homes along the eastern Sierra was rattled by more than 100 quakes the day before, the strongest a magnitude 4.2 that caused high-rise casinos to sway in downtown Reno.
The strongest aftershock measured 3.7 and was recorded early Saturday.
Mike Lentini of Reno said Friday night's quake felt "like a big truck hit the building" and awakened his family.
"It's the unknown. It's shaking, and when's it going to stop?" he said Saturday. "And when stuff starts falling off the shelves it's a whole other ballgame."
Jars of mayonnaise and bottles of ketchup and shampoo fell from shelves at a Wal-Mart store in northwest Reno. Overhead televisions swayed at a sports bar in neighboring Sparks, 11 miles east, where bartender Shawn Jones said the rumble was significantly stronger than Thursday's event.
"The bottles were shaking, so I sent everybody outside," he said.
Hundreds of mostly minor quakes have occurred along one or possibly more faults since the sequence began Feb. 28, said Ken Smith, a seismologist at the Reno laboratory. The quakes have occurred along an area about 2 miles long and a half-mile wide.
"We can't put a number on it, but the probability of a major earthquake has increased with this sequence," Smith said Saturday. "People need to prepare for ground shaking because there's no way to say how this will play out."
Among other things, scientists urged residents to stock up on water and food, to learn how to turn off water and gas, and to strap down bookshelves, televisions and computers.
"It's getting a little bit frightening," Daryl DiBitonto of Reno told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "I'm very concerned about this increase in not only activity, but also in magnitude."
The quakes around Reno began a week after a magnitude 6 temblor in the northern Nevada town of Wells, near the Utah border. The Feb. 21 quake caused an estimated $778,000 in damage to homes, schools and historic downtown buildings, dePolo said.
Scientists said they're unsure whether the seismic activity at opposite sides of Nevada is related.
Nevada is the third most seismically active state in the U.S. behind California and Alaska. The Wells quake was the 15th of at least magnitude 6 in the state's 143-year history.
A magnitude-7.4 quake south of Winnemucca in 1915 is the most powerful in state history.
Among other things, scientists urged residents to stock up on water and food, to learn how to turn off water and gas, and to strap down bookshelves, televisions and computers.
They do seem to be getting smaller. Three in the last hour at about 1.7
When the earthquakes shakin'
Said there's gonna be war
Tell the National Guard
Don't mind the grocery store.........
While in Alaska (after the BIG one- '64) our aftershocks were all over 6.0 for about a year. That Reno's are 'building' is strange. Makes me wonder if a new 'peak' isn't about to develope from some magma below.
We've seen a large snowpak on the west slopes. Wonder if all this weight isn't sqeezing out a 'burp' on the Nevada side?
Those doorway thresholds can get mighty crowded when the ground starts shakin. ;^)
Wrong Reno... sigh.....
/johnny/
That photo of Janet Reno! You scared me. My folks live in Reno. I’m worried about them.
Steel-toed boots help.
Last time I was in an earthquake was way back in the '80s. Small quake. 4.3 or something. I was on a road trip, charging everything back to the company, and I had spent a night out with the guys, and by 10AM, I felt bad.
I excused myself, and went and got right with God and the cool bathroom floor. After a while... I cleaned right up and walked out to talk to the VP about our business deal.
An assistant hissed at me "Did you feel that?".
I assumed they were talking about the heaving and blowing and trumpeting from the nearby bathroom.....
A friend from Poland that I had worked with earlier figured it out before I did. She intercepted me and kept me from making (anymore) of a fool out of myself.
I never felt the ground move. It was just gas and rented beer, as far as I was concerned.
/johnny/
There are two major types of quakes .. shakers and rollers.
From the reports, I believe these 4 pt shakes must be the shaker-type. A 4 pt rolling quake does very little damage.
I’ve been through 4.9 rolling quakes here in San Diego - and they did very little damage.
Forgive me....
No more pictures.
/johnny/
Trouble is that if the quake is strong enough you need to get in a doorway, it's also strong enough you probably can't move to get there.
My concern is a new/old volcano vs a 6.0 earthquake. That shaking is all going on virtually on top of a hot springs. Sounds almost like magma moving doesn’t it?
Sorry. Hope your folks are ok.
Prayers for all in that area.
/johnny/
/johnny/
My husband’s family lived there also. I am concerned.
Kaboom! I not sweating it yet.
Eh, well just when I think “hey, I’d love to move back to Northern NV someday...”
No sweat. We are still safe up here.
My friend (who went through the big Alaska quake in '64) told me he was watching TV after school while sitting on the couch. He said the TV launched across the room, almost hitting him.
Stories were told of the ground opening up and swallowing cars and people. Pictures of downtown Anchorage showed some deep holes in the main street and lots of collapsed building facings.
What I don't understand is how a 4.7 could knock stuff off shelves- unless it's close to the surface or something.
It’s easy - first you feel the quake, then you go to the store and empty the shelves :)
Are there hot springs west of Reno? I've been to Boomtown a few times (hit a dollar machine once- triple,triple, red seven).
LOL! I'm gonna get me some rice. (If it hasn't been biofueled already)
Lawton’s Hot Springs is right outside Mogul, N39.5, W-119.9. I found out tonight that there are 28 hot springs in and around Reno - I didn’t know that.
I love your tagline :)
Interesting. I guess I've only experienced the 'rollers'. Parkfield and Mammoth Lakes (both CA) are pretty active areas. I played a bluegrass festival in Parkfield one year. It's their local claim to fame. They have some very sophisticated equipment stationed to see if they can 'predict' a quake. I didn't feel a thing but my B string kept coming out of tune.
Thanks.
Wow, thanks for the information. I recall a tv show about a lake in the Lassen area where the water was about 90-100'F. Some guy poked a well and instead of drinking water, he found he could heat his home all winter at no cost.
These recent quakes are shallow, and jolt more. The one last night felt like a truck crashed into the house. We've been getting little rollers from time to time over the last 48 hours.
Almost all of the quakes are within 2-3 miles below the surface.
Now that’s something I could use - a hot water well. With the price of propane, think of all the money I’d save.
My horses would probably not like it alot for drinking but it would sure make baths a lot more comfortable.
Sounds shallow- explains why they feel more violent than what I've experienced. Long wave vs. short (spiking) wave.
I've heard people describe the ground as moving in swells, like the ocean- with buildings swaying as it past beneath them. These must be the rolling variety (that I've felt).
If you could get past the sulphur smell ;^)
Are you near Mogul? I used to see a small herd of Texas Longhorn cattle just off the north side of the freeway (80) heading toward Verdi. The last time through, they weren't there.
We live out in Dayton (just outside Carson City) and we haven’t felt a thing. However, lots of our friends out here felt the one last night - so maybe we just immune being out of CA only 3 years.
I haven't either. But what the hell. We may have beach front property and Nancy Pelosi will sleep with the fishes.
<...28 hot springs in and around Reno...>
Oh, no! That means hot magma underground. The geology around the eastern slope of the Sierras is very different than along the California coastline.
For example, the San Andreas fault breaks with horizontal movement; the west side of the fault is moving towards the north while the east side is moving south.
The faults east of the Sierras, such as in Nevada’s basin, are fractured blocks slipping past one another vertically - that means being squeezed up or dropping down. If magma is moving up under Reno - look out!
I have experienced both .. and they’re really quite different. A roller can be difficult if it’s in the 5.5 to 6.0 range.
I remember one in San Jose - at a Marriott Hotel where I was attending a conference. We all huddled in the doorway of the room - looking out into the hallway. The huge hanging chandaliers were swinging so far they almost touched the ceiling in both directions. But .. even though it was over 6.0, there was very little damage.
However, I was in a 5.4 shaker in Sunnyvale, and the building almost came apart. Fortunately, it was a single story building and we were able to get everyone outside into the parking lot.
Ping
How many 7.1 earthquakes have you experienced? What damage did you incur and where were you living during each one? If you don't mind my asking.
The Landers quake ('92) and the Northridge quake ('94) were the big ones I remember, both being over 7.0. The Landers aftershock at 6.5 was even closer to home in Big Bear and was just as scary as the Landers 7.3. I was a kid in the Sylmar quake of '71, but I remember my dad showing me how the driveway was wrecked. It wasn't nearly as big as the Landers or Northridge quake, but it caused a lot of damage in 1971.
In the Landers quake, Southern CA came to a halt. It hit very early on a Sunday morning when most people were asleep and I remember waking up with my bed bouncing like in 'The Exorcist'. That was a big news day with everyone watching the aftermath on TV. I remember standing in my father's kitchen after coming over to see that he was alright at around breakfast time when the Big Bear aftershock hit. He fell one way and I fell the other. One moment we were looking at each other eye to eye, and the next thing I knew I was four feet away from him. That smaller quake was more violent, like a magician doing that old trick of swiping a tablecloth out from underneath a full dinner table setting. I think that was the one that went on for 45 seconds and raised and lowered in intensity. It felt like three quakes one after the other. I recall we had a pretty good quake some months before Landers, and a whole bunch of 5.0 magnitude quakes for months and years later.
The Imperial Valley quake of 1979 half emptied our backyard swimming pool. The quake hit as I was getting ready to go swimming, and I saw a giant pseudopod of water lift into the air out of the pool like a giant teardrop and pop like a balloon, then the water rushed the other way and spilled across our backyard patio taking the lawn furniture with it. I went out to the front of the house, and water from all the backyard swimming pools on our street was rushing downhill.
Anything above a 6.0 gets my attention.
LMAO!
The earthquakes near Reno have been strike-slip earthquakes.
None of these quakes have anything to do with magma movement. THat would be reasonably obvious from the sesimic records.
I was trying to deflate your hyperbole, a little. Landers was indeed 7.1—but people need to know that, because of the remote location, damage was not major. Northridge was not 7.1 (big) but 6.7 (rather lighter in impact) and caused much more damage due to its location in the San Fernando Valley. My first experience was the 1952 Tehachapi earthquake which scared the hell out of me, living in San Fernando. It was 7.5 but about 90 miles away. I live in Santa Monica and Northridge threw us around pretty good but no real damage except that almost everything went from one side of the apartment to the other. I’m glad I don’t live in Reno.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northridge_earthquake
http://www.data.scec.org/chrono_index/kerncoun.html
No, thank goodness. I’m located east of Carson City so probably 40-50 miles SE of the quakes. I remember that herd though - I love seeing the long horns every now and then.
A poster on another board said that Lawton’s Hot Springs is connected with Steamboat Hot Springs just south of Reno and that Steamboat Springs is a volcanic area which previously had geysers. He didn’t give a link for the information though. I’m learning a lot about our geology that I wasn’t aware of. Not sure I really wanted to know this either :)
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