Mysterious earthquake swarm near Area 51 sparks conspiracy theories about secret testing

NewsWorldAmericasMysterious earthquake swarm near Area 51 sparks conspiracy theories about secret testingThe quakes ranged from 2.5 to 4.4 in magnitude and struck within miles of the mysterious Area 51 military baseIsabel Keane in New York Thursday 30 April 2026 21:53 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2968426","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/earthquake-area-51-conspiracy-theories-b2968426.html","title":"Mysterious earthquakes near Area 51 sparks conspiracy theories about secret tests"}}ClosePeople descend on Nevada desert pledging to storm Area 51The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekdayYour briefing on the latest headlines from across the USYour briefing on the latest headlines from across the USEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_Evening_Newsletter","regTitle":"Evening Headlines","subscriptionGroup":"us_evening_headlines","subscriptionGroupId":"4326e634-422a-4447-8e1e-604a937cd3b5","type":"daily_news","pathPrefix":["/us","/news/world/americas","/news/world/americas/crime"],"title":"The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday","mobileTitle":"Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/usEveningHeadlines1_1.png","label":"I would like to receive morning headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts by email","newsletterKey":"receiveEveningHeadlinesUSNews","regSourceSection":"Americas","regSourceMethod":"NSCs"},"isClimate":false}At least...