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The US Geological Survey revealed a 5.7 magnitude earthquake, followed by a series of aftershocks, struck on Wednesday morning near Navada’s border with California. The largest tremor hit at around 12.22am local time, and was closely followed by seven further quakes with magnitudes between three and 5.6.

GETTY The largest tremor hit at around 12.22am local time on Wednesday

Now there are fears a magnitude 7 or above "Big One" could strike the earthquake prone region. Emergency services are said to be assessing the impact of the latest spate of quakes, but there have been no immediate reports of injuries or damage to buildings.

GOOGLE The US Geological Survey revealed a 5.7 magnitude earthquake struck yesterday

Terrified social media users went online to spread the news about the hits, Tony Lewis wrote: “3 major #earthquake’s in Nevada possible precursors for something big.” Amilee added: “Ok. I’m up now. That last earthquake aftershock rocked my bed and window blinds.” One Twitter user said: "These earthquakes have California people all scared to go to sleep. We all in our bed scared to s***!"

GETTY Scientists warned of a “double whammy” mega-earthquake

Another wrote: "I'm scared as hell right now in California #earthquake." Over the last 10 days alone, there have bene eight earthquakes with a magnitude of three or greater in the California area. There have been around 70 major earthquakes in California since records began in 1812 but countless tremors and tectonic events have been recorded in the precariously placed state during that time.

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The largest recorded earthquake in California was the 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake, with an estimated magnitude of 7.9. But the most devastating was the 7.8 magnitude 1906 San Francisco quake, which killed over 3,000 people from falling buildings and subsequent fires And the latest hit comes as scientists warned of a “double whammy” mega-earthquake which could result in the biggest hit in nine years and kill more than 3,000 people.

USGS Now there are fears a magnitude 7 or above "Big One" could strike