Scientists: Earthquake swarm near Lakeview increasing

Scientists say there have been over 700 earthquakes since July in an intense swarm occurring in northwestern Nevada, about 40 miles southeast of Lakeview, and it has become much more active the past few days.

The swarm has been ongoing since mid-July, with more than 700 occurring over that time frame, mostly small in nature, the experts from Oregon, Washington and Nevada said late Wednesday.

But a magnitude 4.6 earthquake occurred at 11:23 p.m. Tuesday night, with magnitude 3-plus events throughout Wednesday.

Three magnitude 4-plus earthquakes have occurred since October 30. In the past three months, there have been 42 earthquakes greater than magnitude 3.

“Such a sequence of earthquakes does slightly increase the probability that a larger earthquake will occur,” the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries said in its update.

“The current swarm resembles a 1968 swarm in Adel, Oregon, in southeast Lake County, which lasted several months and included three earthquakes of about magnitude 5.

It also brings to mind a long-running swarm of quakes that occurred near Maupin several years ago.

DOGAMI Chief Scientist Ian Madin said the Maupin swam has been quiet since early 2012.

He said quake swarms are somewhat variable — some “culminate in larger events, some fizzle, some drag on for years.”

Exactly when earthquakes will occur can’t be predicted — so being prepared is critical, officials say.

“Earthquakes can happen anytime,” says Oregon State Geologist Vicki McConnell. “Planning and preparing now helps you be ready.”

The swarm is being monitored closely by the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, the Nevada Seismological Laboratory at the University of Nevada Reno, the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network at the University of Washington and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Real-time information on the swarm is available at http://www.seismo.unr.edu/ http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/ or http://pnsn.org/earthquakes/recent

Earthquake preparedness information from Oregon Emergency Management is available at http://www.oregon.gov/OMD/OEM/Pages/preparedness_information.aspx