A Thursday morning alert warning of a magnitude 5.9 earthquake turned out to be nothing more than a false alarm.
Officials in Lyon County confirmed the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) had verified the alert was incorrect. The message, which went out at around 8:00 a.m., caused brief confusion before authorities reassured the public that there was no danger.
They said more information is expected soon, but emphasized there is no threat to anyone.
Bay Area Phones Shocked by Rare False Alert
Right after 8 a.m., phones across the San Francisco Bay Area suddenly buzzed with an urgent message: Drop, cover, and hold on for a powerful 5.9-magnitude earthquake supposedly striking just east of Lake Tahoe.
But the quake never happened.
The alert was quickly removed from the USGS earthquake list after officials confirmed it was a false report.
“We can confirm that the earthquake alert was canceled,” said USGS spokesperson Steven Sobieszczyk. “There was no magnitude 5.9 earthquake near Carson City. We’re investigating why the alert was issued and will share updates once we know more.”
Another spokesperson, Lux, said they still don’t know what triggered the mistake. “It’s going to take a little time to understand exactly what happened with the system, but we can confirm there was no earthquake,” she said.
Had a real quake of that size hit the Tahoe area, light shaking could have spread up to 300 km away — meaning some people might have felt it in San Francisco, 270 km (170 miles) from Carson City.
Lyon County, where the false quake was supposedly centered, did not issue any emergency alerts.
The phantom quake was reported at 8:06 a.m., and by 8:23 a.m. the USGS had already removed all traces of it.
The MyShake app, which sends alerts for quakes magnitude 4.5 and above, was responsible for the widespread buzz.
