The Las Vegas Valley was shaken Thursday afternoon when a 4.1 magnitude earthquake hit about 6.8 miles northwest of Summerlin South, according to the United States Geological Survey. The earthquake began rattling the Southern Nevada city just before 2 p.m. on June 4, prompting more than 1,500 reports from locals to the USGS.
A 4.1-magnitude earthquake is generally strong enough for most people to feel it (as evidenced not only by USGS reports but also by Las Vegas residents asking if others felt the shakes), but not strong enough to cause structural damage.
The Las Vegas earthquake is just one of many that hit the West on Thursday, June 4. A series of moderate earthquakes rattled the waters off the West Coast early Thursday, June 4, near the Mendocino Triple Junction, where three tectonic plates meet off Northern California’s coast, one of the most seismically active regions in the United States.
They included a magnitude 5.7 quake off the coast — about 120 miles from McKinleyville — and a magnitude 5.1 earthquake west of Petrolia, though no tsunami threat or significant damage was reported.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the strongest earthquake struck just before 4 a.m. Pacific time west-southwest of Pistol River, Oregon. About two hours later, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake hit roughly 40 miles west of Petrolia in Humboldt County. Minutes after the Petrolia-area quake, a magnitude 4.5 aftershock struck in nearly the same location.
The USGS advises people already indoors to stay put, get under a table, and hang on. Alternatively, people could move into a hallway or against an inside wall, as long as the area is clear of windows, fireplaces, heavy furniture, or appliances that could hurt if they fall on you. The USGS doesn’t advise running downstairs or going outside while the building is shaking because doing so increases the risk of falling or being struck by glass and debris.
If you are outside, the USGS advises getting out into the open, away from buildings, power lines and anything else that could potentially fall on you during an earthquake.
While it might seem like earthquakes are happening more often, especially with real-time alerts and widespread media coverage, the overall rate of earthquakes has remained relatively stable over time.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, any year may appear more active due to improvements in technology that allow scientists to detect more small quakes than in the past, not because there are actually more earthquakes occurring.
Long-term global records dating back to 1900 show that the Earth averages about 16 major earthquakes (magnitude 7.0 or greater) each year — typically 15 in the 7.0 range and one magnitude 8.0 or higher. In 2024, there were 10 earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or greater, the strongest being a 7.5 in Japan.
However, the risk of being affected by an earthquake is growing because of increasing human and economic exposure and the number of assets being built in high-earthquake-hazard areas, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said in a 2023 report.
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