Reno rattles while scientists shake their heads

By SANDRA CHEREB, AP
Scientists at the University of Nevada, Reno are scrutinizing seismic readings and studying damage at residents' homes to try to figure out what's happening beneath the earth's surface under a northwest Reno neighborhood rocked by a seemingly endless string of earthquakes.
What they can't say is whether the hundreds of temblors that have rattled the area for two months — the largest a magnitude 4.7 Friday night — are subsiding or a prelude to bigger things to come.
Up until April 15, sizable quakes that could be felt were occurring about once every third day. Then, the rate increased, with about three, 2.0 or larger incidents occurring daily. On April 24, when the first 4.2 quake was registered, "all of a sudden we were seeing 20 (of the magnitude) 2s and larger per day," said state geologist Jon Price."This is an exceptionally vigorous sequence of earthquakes".
During the past week alone, more than 500 occurrences have been recorded.
More: Reno Quakes