Earthquake swarm in Carson Valley not out of ordinary

In the last 48 hours there have been three dozen earthquakes, the largest being 3.74 and the smallest being about 1.0 in an area between Gardnerville and Topaz Lake.

"This is the nature of earthquakes," said Mickey Cassar, a records tech with seismic data at University of Nevada, Reno. "There are ebbs and flows. Earthquakes happen this way, a sequence goes on for awhile."

Mammoth Lakes, Calif., and Hawthorne, Nevada have had several dozen earthquakes over the past few months, 35 in Mammoth Lakes and almost 55 in Hawthorne just this week.

The Carson Valley and all of Northern Nevada and the Sierra Nevada are not strangers to earthquakes as the area is full of fault lines.

In this photo of fault lines in this story, it shows historical ruptures with a red line. These have ruptured within the last 150 years.

Quaternary Faults by Age
Orange Line - <15,000 years
Light Green Line - <130,000 years
Green Line - <750,000 years
Light Blue - <1.8 million years

Cassar said that while the current swarm isn't unusual it is a good time to get earthquake kits together and prepare you home. The website http://www.shakeout.org is full of resources on how to be prepared, what should be in an earthquake kit (emergency supplies after an earthquake which is similar to a fire preparedness kit), posters and other educational materials.

According to the Earthquake Country Alliance, here are seven steps on how to better prepare to survive and recover, wherever you live, work, or travel.

The four steps to prepare are:
1. Secure your space by identifying hazards and securing moveable items (bookcases, hot water heaters).
2. Plan to be safe by creating a disaster plan and deciding how you will communicate in an emergency.
3. Organize disaster supplies in convenient locations.
4. Minimize financial hardship by organizing important documents, strengthening your property, and considering insurance.
And the next steps to survive and recover:
5. Drop, Cover, and Hold On when the earth shakes.
6. Improve safety after earthquakes by evacuating if necessary, helping the injured, and preventing further injuries or damage.
Being prepared helps your quality of life after the earthquake:
7. Reconnect and Restore. Restore daily life by reconnecting with others, repairing damage, and rebuilding community.