LAS VEGAS ( FOX5 ) — The federal government shutdown is disrupting earthquake monitoring efforts by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and threatening Nevada’s push to secure funding for a potentially life-saving early earthquake warning system.
The USGS website now displays a notice at the top stating that earthquake monitoring is being impacted by the lapse in federal funding. Nevada, alongside California and Alaska, ranks among the top three states most affected by large-scale earthquakes.
“We have earthquakes everywhere across the state,” said Dr. Christie Rowe, director of the Nevada Seismological Laboratory, a statewide program run out of UNR. Their network of earthquake monitors throughout Nevada relies heavily on federal funding. Some of the monitors are used by other states for