Apr 26, 2008 7:41 am US/Pacific
50 Aftershocks Follow Late Night 4.7 Reno Quake
RENO, Nev. (AP) ―
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Reno has been shaken by a swarm of quakes.
AP
More than 50 aftershocks have been recorded on the west edge of Reno Saturday morning following the largest earthquake in a two-month-long swarm of temblors that dumped cans off shelves, knocked pictures off walls and pushed rocks off hillsides along the Sierra Nevada.
There have been no reports of injuries or major damage, but the magnitude 4.7 quake that hit at 11:40 last night cracked walls in northwest residential areas, broke lawn watering lines and damaged a wooden flume built along the Truckee River in the late 1800s to carry lumber from Lake Tahoe down the mountain to Reno.
It was the strongest quake to shake the city in a series of much smaller events in the area since the end of February.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake just before midnight was centered six miles west of Reno near Mogul. That's where a swarm of more than 100 quakes rattled the area the day before, including a 4.2 that quake caused high-rise hotels to sway in the downtown casino district.
Of the more than 50 aftershocks registered today, only eight have been bigger than 2.0, including a 3.7 aftershock that was recorded at 12:29 a.m. Saturday, a 3.4 at 2:11 a.m and a 2.4 at 4:06 a.m.
The initial quake was felt 30 miles north in Portola, Calif., and at least 45 miles south near Stateline, Nev., on Lake Tahoe's south shore.
Jars of mayonnaise, bottles of ketchup and shampoo fell from shelves at a Wal-Mart store in northwest Reno late Friday night. It caused the overhead televisions to sway at a sports bar in neighboring Sparks, 11 miles east, where bartender Shawn Jones said the rumble was significantly stronger than Thursday's event.
Scientists say Reno faces a "small increase" in the chance of a major earthquake in the aftermath of the seismic activity.
Reno's last major quake occurred at 12:34 a.m. on April 24, 1914. The 6.1 temblor awakened people as far away as Sacramento, Calif., and Winnemucca, prompted people to rush out of Reno saloons and hotel lobbies into streets and toppled chimneys, said Craig dePolo, research geologist with Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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