5.1 Earthquake Reported in Texas on Monday Evening

A 5.1-magnitude earthquake has just been reported in  the Permian Basin at 7:49 p.m. Monday night. The earthquake struck about 21 west-southwest of Ackerly at a depth of about 3 miles, leading citizens to report tremors from all over West Texas. The earthquake was confirmed by the United States Geological Survey! As of now, no reports of damage have been made.

Last year, A magnitude 5.3 earthquake was reported in west Texas in November , as reported by the U.S. Geological Survey. In case you didn't know, small earthquakes are actually quite common in Texas, in the range of 2.5-3.0, usually caused by fracking. However, 5.3 magnitude is quite strong for Texas. The strongest earthquake to ever hit Texas was a 6.0 magnitude quake that struck near Valentine, Texas on Aug. 16, 1931.

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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.

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