False alarm: 5.9 earthquake alert in Dayton incorrectly issued by USGS, under investigation
Thursday morning, residents of Dayton were surprised to hear an alert for a 5.9 earthquake despite having felt no quaking beneath them.
That’s because somehow, the USGS issued an accidental alert when no earthquake occurred.
On their website, the alert has been deleted, and a new message beneath it says:
The ShakeAlert EEW system released an incorrect alert for a magnitude 5.9 earthquake near Reno and Carson City, Nevada. The event did not occur, and has been deleted from USGS websites and data feeds. The USGS is working to understand the cause of the false alert.
At the very least, it’s not as bad as the false missile alert that panicked thousands of Hawaiians and tourists a few years back (including this visiting reporter at the time!).
We’ll update with more information on how this could have happened when it’s available.
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