On Friday, seismologists said that although things have cooled down a bit during the past few days in the strongly shaken Reno, a major earthquake is still not out of the question.

According to John Anderson, director of the seismological laboratory at the University of Nevada, Reno, the fact that the activity has recorded a decrease in the last 72 hours is not very reassuring, as it is common for high and low activity periods to alternate. From this point on, pretty much anything could happen.

Since February 28, more than 600 earthquakes of magnitude greater than 1 have been recorded. The most powerful, of magnitude 4.7, hit Reno on April 25, cracking walls in homes and causing quite a stir. Fortunately, there have been no reports of injuries. The 4.7 came after several weeks of nothing but weak temblors, which doesn’t match anything in seismic history patterns.

"Scientists all over are scratching their heads, and they are the West Coast's finest," Glenn Biasi, associate research seismology professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, said.

Although Nevada, alongside California, is known to have recorded some of the highest seismic activity in the United States, what has been going on in the past two months is still rather unusual. Residents in the area have decided not to take any chances so they started sleeping outside, in trucks or camping areas.