6.5 magnitude earthquake hits western Nevada; shaking felt in California

A 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck a remote area of western Nevada close to the California border on Friday morning, producing shaking that was felt in Southern California.

The U.S. Geological Service reported the the temblor hit at 4:03 a.m. about 35 miles west of Tonopah, halfway between Reno and Las Vegas, and just east of the Sierra Nevada range. The quake was upgraded after being initially reported at 6.4-magnitude.

The main highway between Las Vegas and Reno was damaged and closed early Friday. Nevada Highway Patrol photos showed cracks on U.S. 95.

No injuries were reported and crews were working to reopen the highway.

The initial quake struck about 4.7 miles deep, the USGS said, and dozens of aftershocks were recorded in the next three hours, including two with estimated magnitudes of 4.9.

The quake occurred in a remote area of the state and people from Salt Lake City, Utah, to California’s Central Valley tweeted that they felt it.

“It really shook a lot of groceries off the shelves,” Keith Hasty, an employee at a gas station in Tonopah, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Hasty said residents who frequented the store were all talking about the quake.

“We have a lot of locals coming in saying their TVs were shaking, they felt it,” said Hasty. “No damage that I’ve heard of. My boss just called and said his garage shook.”