LOS ANGELES, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on Thursday withdrew a previously issued quake alert near Dayton in the U.S. state of Nevada, saying the notification had been sent in error.
The USGS said earlier a 5.9-magnitude quake struck 6 km east of Dayton at 1606 GMT on Thursday, adding that the epicenter, with a depth of 8 km, was initially determined to be at 39.24 degrees north latitude and 119.52 degrees west longitude.
However, in a later statement, the USGS said the alert was "incorrect."
"The ShakeAlert EEW (Earthquake Early Warning) system released an incorrect alert for a magnitude 5.9 earthquake near Reno and Carson City, Nevada," the agency said in a post on its website.
"The event did not occur, and has been deleted from USGS websites and data feeds," the agency said.
The USGS added that it is working to determine the cause of the false alert. ■