Officials investigating false earthquake alert in Northern California and Nevada

n Thursday morning, many people across Northern California and Nevada saw earthquake alerts, warning of a magnitude 5.9 quake near Dayton, Nevada.

The words “Drop! Cover! Hold on!” flashed on phones, warning people to brace for major tremors, only for nothing to happen — no shaking, no earthquake at all.

The warning came from ShakeAlert, the earthquake early-warning system run by the U.S. Geological Survey at the Department of the Interior. The system, which operates in California, Oregon and Washington, is designed to provide advanced notice about earthquakes so people can turn off machinery or get to safe locations before shaking begins.

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