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DAYTON, Nev. – The US Geological Survey sent out an erroneous alert on Thursday, stating originally that an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 struck in Nevada, but then pulled that alert back, saying it was a mistake. 

According to the initial alert, the quake struck just after 8 a.m. east of Dayton, Nevada.

Then, moments later, the USGS deleted the event from its website.

In a post on X, the USGS said there was no 5.9 earthquake in Nevada and that they canceled the faulty alert.

“We are currently looking into why the alerts were issued,” the USGS posted. “We’ll provide more information when we learn more.” 

Several people also reported getting earthquake alerts on their phones. One person wrote on social media that the MyShake app woke her up, and then she looked again, and it wasn’t listed. 

A spokeswoman for the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office told KTVU via email that they have no affiliation with the earthquke alert.

“We didn’t feel anything here but we are quite a ways from Dayton,” the spokeswoman wrote. 

Dayton is 40 miles from Reno. 

Screen grab of USGS deleting 5.9 quake in Dayton, Nevada. Dec. 4, 2025

Earthquakes