Updated at 1:15 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2016
Two of the biggest earthquakes in the United States in recent months struck a sparsely populated area on the California-Nevada border southeast of Lake Tahoe on Wednesday.
The 5.7- and 5.6-magnitude quakes, accompanied by a series of aftershocks, struck near Nevada’s border with California shortly after midnight, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The initial 5.7 magnitude quake was recorded 18 miles west southwest of the town of Hawthorne at 12:18 a.m. followed by an aftershock of 5.6-magnitude four minutes later near the same location, according to the USGS website.
Aftershocks continued through the night and into the morning, including one of 5.5 magnitude.
Glenn Pomeroy, CEO of the California Earthquake Authority, said the shaking was felt as far west as Sacramento, but no damage was reported.
“We were very fortunate that this recent shaking was not more severe and that it was centered in sparsely populated areas,” he said in a statement. “But as with the earthquake that occurred along the Northern California coast earlier this month, and the Southern California earthquake swarm this fall, these events remind us that we live in earthquake country and that we all should take steps to be prepared.
A pair of small quakes also struck the Coachella Valley shortly before 10 a.m.
— From Staff and Wire Reports
