Did you feel it? Preliminary magnitude 5.3 earthquake hits West Texas, felt in Fort Worth
A preliminary magnitude 5.3 earthquake hit West Texas, Wednesday, but was felt as far away as Fort Worth.
The quake was detected in a remote area northeast of Pecos, Texas just south of the state’s border with New Mexico, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey.
The quake has a preliminary depth of around 6 miles, which would make it a shallow earthquake. Shallow quakes tend to do more damage, however, most residents who reported feeling the earthquake to the U.S. Geological Survey said it was relatively mild.
A preliminary magnitude 2.6 earthquake was detected in the same area just after 4 p.m. Wednesday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Texans took to social media to report feeling the quake as far away as San Antonio and Fort Worth.
Earthquakes are not uncommon in this part of West Texas. There have been 248 recorded earthquakes in the area around Pecos, Texas in the last month, according to the Texas Seismological Network.
However this is the first above a magnitude five since at least 2017, according to the Texas Seismological Network’s data.
This story was originally published November 16, 2022 at 4:11 PM.
.jpg)