(The Associated Press circulated the following on February 22.)
WELLS, Nev. — A strong earthquake shook rural northeastern Nevada Thursday, causing at least one building to collapse, authorities said.
The magnitude of the quake, initially estimated at 6.3, was later revised to 6.0 by the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo.
The temblor, centered in a sparsely populated area 11 miles southeast of Wells near the Nevada-Utah line, occurred at 6:16 a.m. and was felt across much of the West, from northern Idaho and Utah to Southern California, officials said.
Authorities blocked off access ramps on Interstate 80 to town 350 miles east of Reno while they surveyed damage to assess any immediate dangers. Train traffic also was temporarily suspended.
“After it happened, we had to make sure that our track was OK,” said Zoe Richmond, spokeswoman for Union Pacific Rail Road. A safety inspection was conducted and operations resumed.
“It was a minor blip in our operation,” she said.