4.0 Magnitude Earthquake in South TX County-4th This Week

Thursday afternoon a FOURTH earthquake occurred in Karnes County this week! This was the fourth one this week and was stronger than the other three. A magnitude 4.0 earthquake hit near Falls City on Thursday afternoon at 1:50 PM, according to the United States Geological Survey. According to one website, a 4.0 could feel like a big truck driving by, and a 2.5 is usually not felt by a human.

On Monday, three earthquakes happened in Karnes County on Monday, September 11th. According to KSAT12, The first was reported at 3:07 p.m., about 11 miles southeast of Stockdale, magnitude of 3.2. The second one, with a magnitude of 3.1, was measured about 10 miles northeast of Falls City at 6:49 p.m. Just 7 minutes later another earthquake measuring 2.8 happened at the same exact location.

EARTHQUAKES HAPPEN IN OUR AREA ALL THE TIME:

At one point during a six-week period in 2021, there was a total of thirty-three(1.8-3.3 magnitude) reported earthquakes in this general area. Before this time period, this area was pretty dormant. So the question is, why are these happening?

WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN?

So the question is, why are these happening? Most people will say fracking. Here is the official response from the USGS. While earthquakes are not directly caused by hydraulic fracturing (fracking). The two are connected. The recent increase in earthquakes is primarily caused by the disposal of waste fluids that are a byproduct of oil production. How does this cause an earthquake? Wastewater disposal wells typically operate for longer durations and inject much more fluid than is injected during the hydraulic fracturing process, making them more likely to induce earthquakes.