California earthquake leaves some Las Vegans little shaky

A 5.4-magnitude earthquake in Chino Hills, Calif., packed enough punch to rattle nerves and sway buildings 210 miles away in Las Vegas.

The shock waves interrupted a murder trial on the 15th floor of the Regional Justice Center, where a juror briefly stopped closing arguments because she was frightened.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman noticed the drapes in his 10th-floor office in City Hall sway and directed staff to take shelter.

On the upper floors of Clark County Government Center, County Manager Virginia Valentine recognized the signs of an earthquake when the plants began to shake.

"You know what's happening if you've been through one before," Valentine said. "It was pretty strong up here on the sixth floor."

The shock waves from the Chino Hills quake were amplified by the Las Vegas basin's shallow soil sediments, Nevada's top seismologist said Tuesday.

John G. Anderson, director of the Nevada Seismological Laboratory at the University of Nevada, Reno, said data gathered during the era of nuclear weapons testing at the Nevada Test Site and observations from previous California earthquakes show how that occurs, even though the dozen faults in and around the valley aren't linked to those in the Los Angeles area.

The biggest fear, Anderson said, is that an earthquake of magnitude 7.5 or greater could occur in the Death Valley fault system in eastern California. He and other experts believe that could result in structural damage in Las Vegas.

Shock waves from Tuesday's California earthquake were only strong enough to sway tall buildings in Las Vegas, not damage them. Goodman directed staff to get away from the windows and take shelter in door frames or under desks.

The city also activated its emergency earthquake plan, alerting first responders and broadcasting information about what to do in case of aftershocks. Goodman said the city is ready should an earthquake hit.

"You can never be perfect, but I think lessons are to be learned from a serious situation like this," he said. "I feel very confident that we're as safe as any place in the world."

District Judge Stewart Bell allowed a murder trial to resume after an unsettled juror explained that she was disturbed by the building movements because she lived in New York City during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Bell informed jurors a short time later that Los Angeles had been hit by an earthquake.

Marcie Whelan, a Clark County commissioner's executive assistant, said she suddenly felt the floor move and the building sway. Sometimes the rooftop air conditioners can cause the floor to vibrate, but the shaking went far beyond that, she said.

"It was kind of a surprise," Whelan said. "Today, definitely, we knew it was an earthquake."

Carolyn Levering, emergency manager for the city of Las Vegas, said people appeared to take the quake in stride, if they were aware of it at all. Calls for service to emergency personnel did not spike.

"Many of the people on the ground never even felt it," Levering said.

The earthquake prompted Clark County officials to issue a news release reminding residents to take steps to prepare for an earthquake, such as bolting bookcases to walls and securing televisions, computers and monitors with straps and nondrying putty.

In the release, Chairman of the Nevada Earthquake Safety Council Ron Lynn said: "Nevada is the third most seismically active state in the nation after California and Alaska."

Review-Journal writers David Kihara, Alan Choate and Scott Wyland contributed to this report. Contact reporter Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308.