4.4 Eq in West Texas? What's going on here?

reply to post by muzzleflash


I sent an email to my bro-in law to get all the "inside" info, I will post it as soon as i can....can't make a thread yet but will reply somewhere in here.

reply to post by muzzleflash



Certainly. Have raced sand rails once or twice out that way. Gone to war with Monahans under the Friday Night Lights a few times, too.

Originally posted by muzzleflash
Update:

Another aftershock, and this is not a repeat of the 7pm one linked just above, this one is newer.

2.3 - at 9:30 pm local time.

USGS Link

That's the fourth notable after-shock, bringing the total to 5 notable quakes from this region within 24hours.

It appears the activity is slowly moving southwards. Anyone have any ideas what this southward movement may indicate?

To go off topic a bit, there was just a 5.1 in Taiwan but that's quite normal for that location and they are used to quakes happening. They have also prepared and built their structures to withstand quakes upwards to 8 mag from what I have read. Taipai 101 can take a massive quake without suffering much damage. That's why the Taiwan quake although slightly larger is not really notable or out of the ordinary. However this West-Central Texas quake activity is rather anomalous in comparison.

This is the worrisome bit.

I work in a 15 story hotel that was built in the 30's (if you know the region, you might know which hotel I am talking about as it dominates the skyline of my town). The management offices are in the basement. I sincerely doubt that this building was built with quakes in mind.

And it makes me wonder how much of one it can take.

My office, if there is a silver lining, is right against the edge of the building. The sidewalk actually goes right over the outer edge of my office. Maybe if the building collapses that would be my only opportunity.

I have never heard of a Texas earthquake..the Balcones fault is suppose to be inactive and I think it is the main fault line through texas but I could be wrong...it seems to be hard to find many maps that show fault lines in Texas..

Update : Major after-shock activity continues.

Mag 2.7 : 4am
link

2.6 : 4am
link

3.4 : 9am
link

This is really starting to look messed up. I honestly don't know what to make of it.

Could fracking cause a chain reaction to be set off ? Could this result in a chain of shocks similar to what we are witnessing? Also can the fracking pressure cause the chain reaction to move several miles away from the well site?

Originally posted by soulenlightenment
I have never heard of a Texas earthquake..the Balcones fault is suppose to be inactive and I think it is the main fault line through texas but I could be wrong...it seems to be hard to find many maps that show fault lines in Texas..

Well I can count eight notable quakes in this one location within 30 hours time span.

I guess it isn't so inactive after all huh?

I still can't wrap my head around this....

I live in east central Texas and we have not felt any shaking as of yet. Texas is BIG and these quakes are a good ways from us. Our local news nor national news as far as I have seen have reported any of it. The big local and national stories are the wildfires and drought. We just moved back to Texas in July, but i don't ever remember there being this many quakes in any part of Texas and like most of you I keep an eye on the quake situation. If I hear or personally notice anything, I will give you guys a heads up. I am personally leaning towards fracking being the culprit myself, but who knows.

I can't vouch for the validity of these claims but I thought I would share, since in my opinion the people of Arkansas know a thing or two about the reality of fracking...

The people of Arkansas and other states with fracking and well injection need their voices heard and the truth needs to be shared. The front-line in the struggle is in Faulkner County, Arkansas. Because the residents are experiencing a swarm of earthquakes, their air and water are threatened.

I does not matter if geologists believe fracking causes earthquakes or not. The fact is that there is totally undeniable evidence that it poisons drinking water wells. That alone is more than enough reason to STOP!

If the injection were to cause earthquake triggers to other seismic zones, namely the New Madrid fault, the Gas Industry would be responsible for causing the biggest disaster in US history.

The hydraulic fracturing in Arkansas could set off a catastrophic chain reaction. Time is not on our side.

reply to post by muzzleflash


Hey Muzzle...thanks for starting this thread....I had just noticed that within the last 34 hours, Texas has had THREE quakes...a 4.4, a 2.7, and a 3.4
Oklahoma just had a 3.3 8hours ago, and Arkansas. I never remember earthquakes in Texas either! Anyway, I know these are very small, but I'm keeping my eye on the New Madrid.

reply to post by muzzleflash


Eight? Now that is worrisome...I only saw three but that was on the Live Earthquake map. Can you give me a link to the one you are using?

reply to post by StealthyKat


Sure. All links are from USGS.

"8 Quakes on this map"
link to map

4.4

2.5

2.7

3.4

2.8

2.6

2.7

2.3

I actually just got in to Snyder, TX on Sunday night. I wasn't here for the initial quake but I sure am feeling the aftershocks today. It's nothing major but actually the first earthquakes I've ever experienced. You can really feel these things and they rattle the dishes. Totally bizarre to be having them here.

First thing we started talking about was all the fracking in the area. Of course no one knows for sure but the drilling activity in this are has increased greatly within the last 5 years. Crazy times.

Originally posted by dbates
I actually just got in to Snyder, TX on Sunday night. I wasn't here for the initial quake but I sure am feeling the aftershocks today. It's nothing major but actually the first earthquakes I've ever experienced. You can really feel these things and they rattle the dishes. Totally bizarre to be having them here.

First thing we started talking about was all the fracking in the area. Of course no one knows for sure but the drilling activity in this are has increased greatly within the last 5 years. Crazy times.

Wow thank you for the information!

You are my first confirmation of these quakes being real events from the ground.

All of my friends in West Texas said they didn't feel anything, which isn't that surprising granted the small quake size and the geology of the area.

I agree it is extremely bizarre activity and although I am open to the fracking suggestion, I am not entirely convinced that is the case just yet. It very well could be but I need more data to be convinced. There is still a possibility we could be seeing actual fault activity through entirely natural reasons.

Right now I am still open minded and curious. Many questions, very few answers.

Please if you don't mind dbates, keep us updated of anything you find out or want to share. Thanks again!

Another one just a few hours ago.

2.5

So I guess West Texas is seismically active now? I am still not used to this new paradigm.

I wonder if this is going to be commonplace or if it will just suddenly stop and remain quiet for a few decades again?

reply to post by muzzleflash


I don't know if you have been following my "strange noise" thread, but, I have this really anxious feeling that this and the noises are somehow related. I had been speculating that these sounds were atmospheric. Then I read on the thread about TMiddleton, that above fault lines which are having movement, the ionosphere gets stirred up. I wonder if that would create a sound, along with movement of the earth? Is it possible? Here the thread on the noise. What do you think?
www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by muzzleflash


Wow....I don't like the looks of this...I hope I'm wrong, but this has me on edge.

I wonder what yellowstone is up to?

reply to post by muzzleflash


i think if we get some rain, and our surface water reservoirs start to fill up again, we will see this level off and dissipate.

I am willing to bet a years salary that the quakes are related to the relief of stress due to the almost total loss of all surface water in our severe drought. In Snyder, where the original quake happened, they have had it rain only 2 times this year, and none in the last 3 months.

Odd update.

An ATS poster just created this thread

Here is what he posted :

"Strange sounds heard after earthquakes in West texas"

After reading about the recent earthquakes in west texas, I found an article from a city in that area and the residents reported a strange sound after the earthquakes that resembled a "sonic boom". Now please forgive me, as I am not an expert or authority on earthquakes, but is this common? I would suppose as the earth is moving and shifting underneath, there would be a rumbling sound as the tectonic plates rub against each other and such. But the way this is described is that it came from the sky. I thought I would post this to see what others thought, and if there have been other cases like this. Thank you, and have a great day! www.kwes.com...

Link from post above

But it's not just the earthquake that has some scared, it's the noise that comes along with it.

"We could hear a roar. The earthquake lasted like a minute but the noise lasted longer," Robertson said.

"If you're old enough to remember the sonic booms. It resembled a sonic boom," Westmoreland said.

In the past 48 hours, Scurry County has seen eight earthquakes and on Monday morning residents felt another one. This time it was a 3.4 magnitude earthquake.

Residents are a little concerned because they have never had this many earthquakes in such a short period of time. "Why are we getting them? There has been a few over the years. But if there really has been multiple ones in the last 24 hours, sure that's kind of bothersome," Robertson said.