Texas experienced a series of earthquakes Friday, but, luckily, the state known for doing everything big doesn’t match the intensity of tremors Californians and other coastal communities experience.
On Friday, the most recent Texas temblor, centered in the state’s western region 19 miles from Mentone, clocked in at 3.3 magnitude at 9:01 a.m. Eastern, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
A 2.3 magnitude hit the same area about two hours earlier. The USGS also captured an estimated 10 minor tremors in the area over the last 24 hours, ranging from 1.7 to 2.4 magnitude.
No injuries or damages were reported.
While such shaking may get the attention of Texans, it typically takes quakes of 6 magnitude and above to get Californians and other West Coasters scrambling for cover.
While West Texas has several fault lines, the earthquakes were likely caused by induced seismicity — earthquakes triggered by human activities, according to geologists and the Texas Railroad Commission which have studied the increase in quakes in recent years.
They report that oil and gas operations are causing quakes mainly through wastewater injection increasing underground pressure, lubricating faults and making them more likely to slip. The Big Oil state of Texas has experienced 406 earthquakes in the past 30 days and 79 earthquakes in the past seven days.
Dr. Xiawoei Chen, an associate professor in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at Texas A&M University who specializes in earthquake rupture, said of a similar series of quakes last summer:
Earthquakes occur when the stress loading on a fault exceeds the fault’s strength, similar to pulling a box with a spring on a regular surface: the friction between the box and the surface holds the box static, while stretching the spring increases stress loading. Injected water increases pore pressure and alters the normal and shear stresses on the fault, causing it to slip easier and produce earthquakes, like pulling the same box on a watery surface.
While some environmentalists point to the quakes as a dangerous consequence of fracking, no major damage or injuries have been reported by Texans over the years.
The strongest earthquake reported in Texas happened long before fracking was developed. It was a was 6.0 temblor with an epicenter in Valentine in Jeff Davis County on August 16, 1931.
Californian Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
