A Magnitude 6.5 earthquake occurred early this morning, centered in a remote region of Nevada about 60 miles east of the California border. Light shaking was felt widely throughout the Central Valley of California and up to Reno, Nevada.

Aftershocks in the range of Magnitude 4 and 5 have been continuing to occur this morning.

Remember: when you start to feel shaking, Drop, Cover, and Hold On.

This earthquake will not create a Jumpstart payment zone. Jumpstart payments are triggered in the area of intense shaking, which occurred only in Nevada for this earthquake. Jumpstart is available only in California at the moment.

Had this earthquake occurred in California it would likely have triggered a Jumpstart payment zone. For example, the 2014 Magnitude 6.0 Napa earthquake exceeded the Jumpstart payment trigger, even though its magnitude was significantly lower than today’s M6.5.

Dozens of past earthquakes would have triggered a Jumpstart payment.

One reason for such a small area of intense shaking from today’s M6.5 earthquake is that its epicenter was located in a mountainous region. Dense rock dampens earthquake energy and reduces shaking intensity before seismic waves reach the surface.

As a reminder, Jumpstart’s payment zone is defined by a peak ground velocity of 30 cm/sec. This is roughly equivalent to the “red zone” on the USGS Shakemap. At the time of this writing, the USGS interactive map for today’s earthquake looks like this:

USGS will continue to update the ShakeMap and other earthquake information at this link.

Please help us spread the word about how Jumpstart can build financial resilience for an earthquake. Jumpstart pays $10,000 right away after an intense earthquake affects you.

Here’s a sample social post:
Check out @yourjumpstart, a new type of #earthquake insurance that pays right away.