March 10, 2016 - U.S. SOUTH - At least three people were killed and thousands forced from
their homes as a second round of severe rains poured down in parts of
the South. The National Weather Service is calling the flash flooding a
historic event.
Rivers rose to near-record levels,
resulting in cars and homes near Shreveport, Alabama being submerged by
several feet of water. Flood conditions are expected to last until early
Saturday in northwestern Louisiana.
Governor John Bel
Edwards declared a state of emergency in 16 Louisiana parishes, with the
National Guard being called in to assist evacuation efforts after the
rains began on Wednesday morning.
Spokeswoman Rebekah Malone says that the Guard evacuated 361 people in Louisiana’s Bossier, Morehouse, and Ouchita parishes, according to Fox News.
Thousands evacuated as historic flooding swamps Louisiana
Twitter: The Weather Channel
A 75-year-old man drowned on Wednesday afternoon near Lucky, Louisiana while attempting to drive through a flooded highway. A female passenger driving with him managed to be pulled to safety, but is suffering from hypothermia, The Weather Channel reported.
Officials ordered the mandatory evacuation of 3,500 homes as a precaution as the water in a nearby bayou was approaching the top of its levee.
“After a while, with more rain coming in, we’re probably not going to be able to get in and out of our neighborhood because a lot of it is under water,” resident Jennifer Williams told KTBS. “A lot of the homes are under water.”
Authorities in the Texas counties of Harrison and Marion, located to the west of Shreveport, also issued evacuation orders due to the severe rains, with flooding expected to continue through Sunday.
WATCH: Widespread flooding in the U.S. South.
“We expect some areas to get 15 inches plus of rain,” National Weather Service forecaster Bob Oravec said, according to Reuters. “It looks like a pretty bad situation.”
A 22-year-old man was killed in southeastern Texas on Sunday night when his kayak capsized, according to AP. He was not wearing a life jacket, police said.
A 30-year-old man drowned in his SUV in Southwest Oklahoma on Tuesday night while trying to cross a bridge covered in floodwaters, according to Reuters. A passenger in the vehicle managed to swim to safety. - RT.
November 27, 2013 - UNITED STATES - On Tuesday morning, yet another earthquake rocked the small Tarrant County town of Azle. It was the sixth within a week in Tarrant and Parker counties. More than a dozen quakes have rattled North Texas in November. Azle residents are getting nervous and seismologists are trying to get to the bottom of what’s going on. Some point to natural gas drilling that’s happening in the Barnett Shale, a massive geological formation that covers about 20 North Texas counties.
But a geophysicist with the National Earthquake Information Center says more testing is needed to make such a connection. Donna Luce is worried. “I was sitting there watching TV, and my house just shook, and I’ve never felt that before, ever,” she said. “Now, actually, I’m afraid of sinkholes.” Debbie Raub and her husband, Fred, described the big quake with a 3.6 magnitude as “real spooky.
Real loud boom, and then it just started shaking the ground under our mobile home,” she said. “Just rocking it. And our dogs, they go totally insane. They know it before it happens.” Each time there’s a quake, their two-bedroom trailer has to be re-leveled. “You just have to get under there, and jack it up in spots, put a level on underneath the trailer, and level it,” Debbie Raub said. “It’s just pulling the ground out beneath our stands.”
Fred Raub, who was born in Azle, says he doesn’t think the quakes are natural. He blames local natural gas drilling. “They say it ain’t what happens, but till then, we didn’t have it,” he said. “You gotta drill about every mile. You just start looking around at all the drills they’re putting down.” Don Blakeman, a geophysicist with the National Earthquake Information Center, says the quakes could be the result of oil and gas production.
But he says more testing is needed to know that for sure. ”Obviously, if it is oil and gas production related, they might continue until that activity stops,” he said. “The other possibility is that it’s just a natural swarm, because we do see that sort of thing occurring sometimes in areas where we haven’t had quakes before.”
A natural swarm is a series of small quakes. And Blakeman says they aren’t as dangerous as quakes with bigger magnitudes – quakes at 5.0 magnitudes can produce structural damage. In the meantime, in case the ground starts to shake again, Blakeman advises individuals and families to be prepared if a bigger quake strikes North Texas.
Scientists and other experts are reportedly teaming up with the U.S. Geological Survey to collect more data to learn more about why these quakes keep occurring in North Texas. - KERA News.
November 14, 2013 - UNITED STATES - Seven earthquakes have occurred in the northern Parker County area during the last week, including a 2.8-magnitude quake west of Briar early Monday morning.
USGS earthquake location map.
A 3.0-magnitude earthquake occurred shortly before 2 p.m. Saturday south of Springtown, according to U.S. Geological Service data.
The earthquakes in the area began around 9:30 p.m. Nov. 5 with a 2.6-magnitude shaking in the Reno area, followed several minutes later by a 2.3 aftershock centered in the Newark area.
Other earthquakes included a 2.7 quake south of Springtown around 11 a.m. Nov. 6, a 2.8 quake east of Springtown around 10:30 p.m. Nov. 7, and a 2.4 quake near Azle around 9:30 p.m. Nov. 8.
To view a map of the earthquakes visit the USGS website, www.earthquake.usgs.gov. - WD.
November 08, 2013 - UNITED STATES - A fourth earthquake in three days shook northeast Parker County Thursday night, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
“This is part of a continuing swarm of earthquakes,” said Dale Grant, a geophysicist at the USGS’s National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo. “We consider this rather minor, but it was widely felt.”
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
Grant said USGS scientists are unsure why northeast Parker County, an area not historically known for seismic activity, has been shaking.
The first quake registered 2.6 at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday about 2 miles east of Reno. An aftershock was recorded about 10 p.m. Tuesday. The third event, a 2.7-magnitude quake, was reported at 11:05 a.m. Wednesday, about 3 miles south-southwest of Springtown.
“Why they would spring up in this particular area is a mystery,” Grant said. “The Texas state geologist will begin an inquiry. Right now, we just keep monitoring them, but there is no way we can infer a cause and effect because we just don’t know.”
What about hydraulic fracking, a technique being used in North Texas to extract natural gas from the Barnett Shale? Several Star-Telegram readers have asked if that is a possibility.
“Everybody’s got an opinion on that,” Grant said. “Truthfully, we just don’t know until more investigation is done by people in that area. To speculate what might be the cause is just that — speculation.” - Star-Telegram.
September 03, 2013 - UNITED STATES -
An East Texas town has had two earthquakes nearby in one day but no reports of anyone hurt or significant damage. The earthquakes shook East Texas on Monday afternoon.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a 4.1 magnitude rattled the
ground. Its epicenter was about two miles west-northwest of Timpson. The
earthquake occurred at 4:52 p.m.
Location of the two earthquakes.
Timpson is about 25 miles northeast of Nacogdoches.
East
Texans reported feeling the earthquake in Mt. Enterprise, Garrison,
Gladewater and Henderson and Appleby. A viewer in Garrison says the
earthquake shook her house for about 15 seconds.
Timpson police
Officer Adam Renfro says he had received reports of dishes and pictures
falling from walls but no significant damage.
Reports:
Timpson, Texas 75975 - At 4:54 PM we has a sudden loud
roaring noise and our entire house shook. Things fell off shelves. It
had to be at least a 3.5 or greater. Lasted awhile.
Caroline Davis 2336 FM 1970N Timpson,TX 75975
Timpson, TX 75975 - We felt a hard shaking that lasted about
15 to 20 seconds. There was a runbling noise, also. Things were falling
off the shelves and it was hard to stand up without falling.
Caroline Davis
2336 FM 1970 N Timpson, TX 75975
Timpson, Texas - Wasn't too bad, about the same as the few in 2012. A little scary, though.
Arcadia - Standing at the kitchen sink, lost my balance, and fell forward against the sink. Felt dizzy. Just lasted a second.
timpson - Frightened, holding things on my desk to keep them from falling to the floor.
Bossier City, LA - I only felt it because I was sitting very
still on my bed, studying. I very much doubt that I would have felt it
had I not been sitting completely still.
DeBerry, Tx - Made light fixtures swing but nothing fell from shelves.
tyler - mild jolt felt at 4:41
Liberty City - My daughter and I were upstairs watching TV,
when I had a feeling someone had shaken my easy chair. We looked at each
other and said "What was that?" at the same time.
Chapman, Texas - Light shaking. No noise. Lasted about 10 seconds.
Concord - Walls were shaking and there was a rumbling sound.
Lasted about a minute. I felt a tingling sensation through my body the
entire time as well.
Nacogdoches, TX - Duration about 3-5 seconds. If I hadn't been sitting still I don't know if I would've felt it.
Chireno TX - Lsyind down and felt shaking for about 3 to 5 seconds. Have experienced a 7.4 in California
Nacogdoches - I was sitting at my desk so I noticed things
shaking. My husband was in the house too but did not feel anything. Felt
like a large truck driving by.
Nacogdoches, Texas - I was sitting on the bed channel
surfing, when I felt a light shaking. I assumed it was vibrations from
the washing machine.It seemed to end, and within a few seconds, I felt a
second group of waves.
I went to check and the washer wasn't running. Later on the local news
reported the quake.
Appleby , Texas - i was standing next to pond looking at the.
water clarity. Heard sudden roaring then noticed strange ripples on
water surface. Definately not normal for east texas.
cr3261 - Felt more like a blast this time. Vibration rather
than swaying. Just felt another, 6:50pm and was swaying feeling and i
think lasted less than 10 seconds.
Timpson, TX 75975 - At exactly 6:51 PM another earthquake
happened here in Timpson, Tx. It didn't last as long, but the shaking
was almost as bad. No rumbling this time. Just things falling that we
just picked up and more of my set of crystal broke. Caroline Davis
Timpson, TX
Carthage, TX - At 4:54 I heard rumbling and popping noises,
and the house seemed to tilt as if a hard gust of wind had blown against
the back wall. The walls popped and the mini blinds swung away from the
window. It lasted for a few seconds. Around 6:52 I felt another one!
Nacogdoches - At first I thought maybe it was a truck or
machine outside. The blinds and some soda in a bottle were moving. I've
felt a weak earthquake before and this was very similar. I live on the
third floor of my building and that's where I was when I felt it.
Lufkin, tx - Was resting in bed and felt it. Probably wouldn't have noticed if I was moving around. 3-4 secs
Nacogdoches - on 6th story ... blinds were moving, and felt a vertigo-type sensation.
Bethel - At about 6:50ish I was laying on the couch, my
husband at the combuter. It felt like the couch and house was being
sharply pushed up and my husbands computer chair was rocked while he was
in it.
Clayton - It kind of freak us out. I never felt the prior
ones in 2012, so this was a new experience for me. And because I haven't
felt one before, I have nothing to compare it too. Mainly I thought
that I was dizzy, NOT!
Henderson, TX - at approximately 6:52 I was lying down, and
felt my home shake very weakly. This lasted around 4 to 5 seconds.
During the quake I noticed an interior door in my home that was open,
minimally shaking back and forth.
Nacogdoches, Texas - I was sitting on the couch, reading a
book when the couch start moving side to side. It lasted about 10
seconds probably, felt like longer to me! Happened about 6:50pm. Don't
know if it was another earthquake or an aftershock, felt pretty strong
to be an aftershock but I've never been in a earthquake before so what
do I know.
Nacogdoches - My husband and I were in the living room
watching tv when it felt like someone was lightly shaking the couch. I
looked at him and asked if he felt in then noticed our floor lamp
shaking too. What a strange experience! My first earthquake!
Nacogdoches - I was sitting in my dorm watching tv. I
thought someone was having a party in the room next to me since the bed
is against the wall and was shaking terribly.
Brachfield, Tx. - Watching TV and the couch and tea glass was shaking as if we were sitting on the washing machine during the spin cycle.
Nacogdoches - Felt couch and the floor moving. Then noticed
the one story building make rattling noises. Lasted maybe five seconds. I
didn't feel the initial quake but definitely felt the aftershock. Felt
like I had vertigo.
Appleby, TX - Felt the couch shake and heard dishes rattling in the kitchen. Lasted around 5 seconds. Worse than the ones in 2012.
minden, tx - While inside on couch watching tv couch began to
shake slowly. Mini blinds shook. Duration about 3 seconds. We did not
feel the first one.
Timpson, Tx 75975 - The epicenter of both these earthquakes are on the road I live on. Caroline Davis
Timpson, tx - Watching tv and heard a loud noise and the
house started shaking hard lots of things fell off the wall and the wall
looked like it was turning definitely a lot stronger then the 2nd one!!
Mount Enterprise - Felt like standing in a boat with lots of waves around is the only description that comes close.
Houston - I thought it was just thunder, but it lasted longer
than the usual "clap". When I looked outside, the sun
was shining.
Tyler - Sharp jolt lasting less than 3 seconds followed by light shaking for a few seconds.
Gary TX, Lake Murvall - Was laying in bed upstairs
Gary City - We first got the 4.1 and about an hour or so
later we got another it felt much much longer then the first one.The
first one barely shook the house but the second one was stronger and
shook longer maybe it was about a 4.3 I grew up in S. Calif so over the
last year or so we have been having earthquakes in Timpson and we are
on the South side of Panola County so we feel it more so then people who
live in Carthage TX. The 1st time we had the quake
Cushing, Texas - Around 7:00pm I was surfing the web when I
felt light to moderate shaking that was very distinctive. It was enough
to know that something had happened. After it took place Facebook
light up. My wife felt like she was experiencing vertigo.
Experts say the second quake was a 4.3 magnitude at 6:51 p.m. Monday.
The epicenter was about 2.5 miles west-northwest of Timpson, a town of
about 1,200 located 150 miles southeast of Dallas. Timpson police received reports of dishes and pictures falling from
walls after the first quake. The sheriff's office had no reports of
damage following the second earthquake.
USGS shakemap intensity of the 4.1 earthquake.
This is the tenth earthquake to hit Shelby County since May 2012.
RECENT EAST TEXAS EARTHQUAKE TIMELINE
• May 10, 2012 - (3.9) NW of Timpson.
• May 17, 2012 - (4.8) ENE of Timpson.
• May 20, 2012 - (2.7) SSW of Timpson.
• May 26, 2012 - (2.5) SE of Timpson.
• June 16, 2012 - (2.1) SSW of Timpson.
• December 7, 2012 - (2.8) SW of Timpson.
• January 25, 2013 - (4.1) W of Timpson.
• January 29, 2013 - (2.8) S of Timpson
• January 31, 2013 - (2.7) S of Timpson
• September 2, 2013 - (4.1) WNW of Timpson
Another
series of moderate earthquakes hit Sabine County on April 23, 1964.
According to the USGS, Hemphill was near the epicenter of the 4.4
magnitude earthquake.
WATCH: 4.1 magnitude earthquake rattles East Texas.
Aftershocks were reported in Pineland, Hemphill,
and Milam. Cracked wallpaper and plaster were the only damage reported.
More tremors, reaching 4.2 in magnitude, were reported in May, June, and
August of that year.
In 1957, several shocks were reported at 4.7 in magnitude in the Gladewater area in Northeast Texas.
Tectonic Summary - Earthquakes in the Stable Continental Region.
Most of North America east of the Rocky Mountains has infrequent
earthquakes. Here and there earthquakes are more numerous, for example
in the New Madrid seismic zone centered on southeastern Missouri, in
the Charlevoix-Kamouraska seismic zone of eastern Quebec, in New
England, in the New York - Philadelphia - Wilmington urban corridor,
and elsewhere. However, most of the enormous region from the Rockies to
the Atlantic can go years without an earthquake large enough to be
felt, and several U.S. states have never reported a damaging
earthquake. The earthquakes that do occur strike anywhere at irregular
intervals.
USGS earthquake location.
Earthquakes east of the Rocky Mountains, although
less frequent than in the West, are typically felt over a much broader
region. East of the Rockies, an earthquake can be felt over an area as
much as ten times larger than a similar magnitude earthquake on the west
coast. A magnitude 4.0 eastern U.S. earthquake typically can be felt
at many places as far as 100 km (60 mi) from where it occurred, and it
infrequently causes damage near its source. A magnitude 5.5 eastern
U.S. earthquake usually can be felt as far as 500 km (300 mi) from
where it occurred, and sometimes causes damage as far away as 40 km (25
mi).
Faults
Earthquakes everywhere occur on faults
within bedrock, usually miles deep. Most of the region's bedrock was
formed as several generations of mountains rose and were eroded down
again over the last billion or so years.
At well-studied plate
boundaries like the San Andreas fault system in California, often
scientists can determine the name of the specific fault that is
responsible for an earthquake. In contrast, east of the Rocky Mountains
this is rarely the case. All parts of this vast region are far from
the nearest plate boundaries, which, for the U.S., are to the east in
the center of the Atlantic Ocean, to the south in the Caribbean Sea, and
to the west in California and offshore from Washington and Oregon. The
region is laced with known faults but numerous smaller or deeply
buried faults remain undetected. Even most of the known faults are
poorly located at earthquake depths. Accordingly, few earthquakes east
of the Rockies can be linked to named faults. It is difficult to
determine if a known fault is still active and could slip and cause an
earthquake. In most areas east of the Rockies, the best guide to
earthquake hazards is the earthquakes themselves.
May 21, 2013 - UNITED STATES - Severe storms, some capable of producing tornadoes, will threaten communities across northeastern Texas, northwestern Louisiana and Arkansas into Tuesday night.
The severe weather will continue to ignite as a storm system over the central Plains slowly crawls to the east. The most violent thunderstorms will erupt during the late afternoon and early evening hours, during peak heating from the day.
Austin, Shreveport, El Dorado and Memphis are among the cities that
lie within the area of greatest severe storm and tornado risk.
With
plenty of humid air to work with, some of the thunderstorms will
develop into long-lived super cell thunderstorms.
These types of storms
are notorious for spawning very large hail and long-tracking tornadoes
such as the Moore, Okla., tornado that touched down on Monday afternoon.
"The atmosphere is prime for tornadoes from northern
Texas to Arkansas," AccuWeather Expert Senior Meteorologist Henry
Margusity said. "The setup is the same as yesterday [Monday], but just
farther south."
Threats with the strongest storms will include golf ball-sized hail and larger and damaging wind gusts of 70 mph and higher. Strong winds can bring down trees and power lines which could lead to power outages.
Severe thunderstorms will also reach portions of the Ohio Valley to western New York state this evening. The greatest concerns with storms in this region is large hail and localized strong wind gusts. - AccuWeather.
January 30, 2013 - UNITED STATES - A small 2.8 earthquake
struck near Timpson, Texas, very early this morning, according to the
U.S. Geological Survey. It’s the second earthquake in less than a week
in the area. On January 25, a 4.1 quake
struck some two miles Northwest of town, around the same time of the
morning. That quake reportedly caused one chimney to topple over. A
smaller earthquake like the one this morning is unlikely to cause
damage.
You can see where both quakes occurred in the interactive map above. Scientists are linking a growing number of quakes in Texas to wells
used to dispose of wastewater from oil and gas drilling, including
earthquakes in East Texas and around Dallas-Fort Worth. There was even a 4.8 quake in Timpson last May that caused some damage and one reported injury.
“At the moment, we are actually linking them [earthquakes] to
injection wells that are located close to where the earthquakes are in
the Timpson area,” Dr. Wesley Brown, an Associate Professor in the Department of Geology at Stephen F. Austin University told the regional newspaper Light and Champion in
December. “We have one a little bit to the north, and [the wells] are
north and south of each other,” said Dr. Brown. “The volume, especially
for the one in the south, is up over 200,000 barrels of water per
month.” - State Impact.
January 25, 2013 - UNITED STATES - The U.S. Geology Survey confirms a 4.1 magnitude earthquake hit East Texas around 1:01 a.m. Friday morning with an epicenter 2 miles from Timpson, Texas. KSLA News 12 phone lines started ringing after numerous people felt the 'quake from Shelby County all the way to Bossier City.
USGS earthquake map.
"It woke me up out of a dead sleep," said Amanda Jones who lives on
Highway 7 E between Center and Joaquin. Jones tells us it felt stronger
than the last earthquake that hit East Texas last summer. Jones says she
is unsure about damage but will wait until the sun comes up to check. Jamie Ward in Center, TX tells us her house shook for at least 20 seconds. A man from Carthage, TX who was working the night shift at a gas
plant says "it felt like it was coming from the bottom of my feet up."
He described what he felt "like the wind was shaking the travel
trailer." He tells us he looked for damage but didn't see any.
A woman who lives on W. 70th in Shreveport tells us she was laying in bed when "stuff started shaking."
Bossier City resident Sarah Rains, who lives off of Sligo
Rd., says she and her roommate felt their trailer shake and thought it
might have just been heavy winds. Katy Cash of Keatchie says she felt her house shake but thought she
was just imagining it when her chandelier over the dining table started
swaying. Katy tells us her mom in Florien, Louisiana also felt it.
We want to hear from you if you have any reports to share. Please email us ksla@ksla.com. You can also send pictures or video to sendit@ksla.com. Make sure you have the KSLA News 12 Weather app on iPhones and iPads to use our earthquake tracker. According to the United States Geological Survey, the most powerful
earthquake ever recorded in Texas was a magnitude 5.8, which struck near
the tiny West Texas town of Valentine in August of 1931. - KSLA.
The fourth earthquake in 16 days hit East Texas early Saturday. No injuries or significant damage were reported from the preliminary magnitude 2.5 temblor that hit about 1:30 a.m., said Larry Burns, emergency management coordinator in Timpson.
The quake was centered about seven miles southeast of town, near FM 1645 and Texas 87, according to information from the U.S. Geological Survey. "One of the guys I work with, he told me it shook but it wasn't like any of the others we've had," said Burns, who was not in town when the latest quake occurred. "We're up to four of them so far." There perhaps have been more than that, according to accounts collected by the Timpson and Teneha News, Mayor Debra Smith said Saturday. "I think they've determined we are up to seven in the last 12 months," the mayor said, dating the first reports to July. "But some of them were smaller than the (Geological Survey) keeps up." Smith reported the most recent shakeup was less dramatic than a May 17 quake that recently was upgraded to magnitude 4.8, woke residents and was blamed for one injury in the northern Shelby County town of 1,166.
"I think some people felt it," she said, adding she slept through the latest quake. "We don't know if it was an aftershock or how they classify those." The first quake, on May 10, measured magnitude 3.7. The May 17 earthquake was followed three days later by a 2.7 tremor that struck at 1:28 p.m. one week ago today about a mile south of Timpson. The May 17 quake, which was felt in Longview and Shreveport, was centered three miles east of town, while the May 10 shakeup emanated from a site four miles to Timpson's northeast. Since the quakes began, Smith said, teams from the U.S. Geological Survey and Stephen F. Austin State University have placed seismic monitors in two or three locations to continuously record underground activity. Several residents expressed suspicions that mineral extraction could be a factor in the unusual seismic activity. "It's kind of unnerving," Smith said. "Everybody I talked to said it's too early to determine if there is any connection to the oil and gas industry and anything significant causing it." - News Journal.
"You'll notice the area here. Here's Rusk, Panola, and Shelby Counties. These are the locations of the two most recent earthquakes.The one to the west was the first earthquake and you see it occurs right on this fault line, and then the most recent earthquake is a little further east." John Carr is a geologist with Carr Enterprises, and he's been following the last two earthquakes that occurred here in East Texas.
"This is a natural event, it's on a very large existing fault system that's called the Mount Enterprise System. The last quake we're told had it's epicenter, right along the fault line, and the one that occurred Thursday morning just a few miles east, also on the fault line. Also, we're told last week's shake up, was called a foreshock. "A foreshock means the stress was relieved and then there was a larger release after that. So, you might think of it as the beginning, and there might yet be another one."
Carr says the chances are decent of East Texas seeing at least one more, but that most likely it would be minor, follow the fault line further east and possibly not even be felt. But, what about fraking? Could it just be coincidence the earthquakes fell on the fault lines, and fraking was really to blame? Carr says, if fracking was to blame, there's one problem, depth. "These are horizontally bedded sediments, at that depth, the rocks are so compressed the only way to get gas and oil out of them is to fracture them. Where those earthquakes are happening is not up here but all the way down in here to an area that's the upper, very upper most part of the crust where you have crystal and rocks that's where the earthquakes originate, not up in here." - KETK.
WATCH: Carr explains Texas earthquakes as a natural event.
Residents of Shelby County were awakened this morning by an earthquake in the same vicinity as another quake just last week. Shelby County Emergency Management Coordinator Danny Lawrence said the quake shook the fire station where he was on duty and there was some minor damage around the county, but no major damage or serious injuries reported.
"It was a minor ground-shaking that shook windows and rattled some dishes, but I haven't been informed of any major structural damage in the county," he said. A statement from the Shelby County Sheriff's Office stated an elderly woman was injured when she was thrown from her bed, but the statement said extent of those injuries were minor. Sheriff officials said the 4.3 magnitude quake occurred about three miles east of Timpson and lasted approximately 15 seconds. John Bellini, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake information Center, said the two quakes in one week could indicate the area might see a swarm of quakes in the area over the next few weeks.
Bellini said quakes strike areas where there are faults and LaRell Neilson, a geology professor with Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, said last week there's an active fault system that runs through East Texas, stretching from Mount Enterprise along Texas Highway 84 to Timpson. It's called the Mount Enterprise Fault. The fault is active and delivers low-level quakes, such as Thursday's, fairly regularly. He said the last one he could recall struck the area around 1994 and measured between 3.5 and 4 on the United States Geological Survey's equipment. Lawrence said USGS data shows there was a strong quake in the area in 1957 and then every few years there are small quakes that most people never realize have occurred. "These past two quakes have everyone a little uneasy right now," he said. "If we have another then it will really get people upset, because this is not something we are used to seeing like the folks out in California." - KYTX.
A 4.3-magnitude earthquake rattled eastern Texas early Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The quake, at a depth of three miles, was centered near Timpson, about 155 miles east-southeast of Dallas, according to the USGS. It struck at 3:12 a.m. (4:13 a.m. ET).
At least one building in Timpson showed damage, with a number of bricks falling to the street below, CNN affiliate KLTV in Tyler, Texas, reported. Ollie Barrett told KLTV that bricks from her chimney came crashing through her roof. "There was a loud rumbling noise and then there was a lot of crashing," she said. Her 52-inch, wall-mounted TV was crushed. One woman was injured when she fell out of bed and cut her arm, CNN affiliate KSLA in nearby Shreveport, Louisiana, reported. And the Shelby County sheriff's office had reports of broken windows from the temblor, dispatcher Karen Shield told CNN.
The quake was the second to hit the area in a week. A 3.9 quake shook Timpson May 10. Thursday morning's earthquake was the third-strongest in East Texas history, KLTV reported, surpassed only by quakes in 1957 and 1964. Cliff Frohlich, a University of Texas scientist, said it's possible the most recent quakes are related to energy production activity in the area. "There are some injection wells in the part of the country where these earthquakes occurred," Frolich told CNN. "If they were very close to an injection well, that would suggest they were." Injection wells are used in the disposal of dirty water from energy production, Frohlich said. Frohlich said injection wells should not be confused with fracking, a process which involves injecting water, sand and some chemicals deep into the earth to crack shale rock, which frees oil and gas. "Fracking almost never causes quakes," Frohlich said. - CNN.
Residents in Shelby County and Nacogdoches County got a shaking surprise
Thursday morning when a 3.7 earthquake hit southwest of Timpson.
Kyle Adkison shows the brick damage the earthquake caused on his house.
The U.S. Geological Society reports the earthquake hit around 10:15 a.m. at a depth of 3.1 miles below the Earth's surface. According to Jason Hansford, senior meteorologist at the National Weather Center in Shreveport, no damage has been reported in the area. Hansford said he did not know how an earthquake could have hit the area, as there are no significant fault lines. "It could be fracking issues," he said. "It's just a theory, but we don't have any significant fault lines." Hansford said numerous reports have come from residents in the counties of Nacogdoches, Panola and Shelby County. The USGS is fielding reports of residents feeling the temblor in Garrison, Timpson, Center, Nacogdoches and Tenaha. Garrison resident said the earthquake caused damage to bricks at his house on Fern Street. Nacogdoches County resident Fran Rosenberger said she was sitting at her table on County Road 816 when the earthquake hit. She said her house moved from north to south and lasted about 10 seconds. Nothing fell off of her wall, she said. USGS reports the earthquake was centered about one mile west of Timpson.
According to Nacogdoches Police spokesman Sgt. Greg Sowell, various crews are checking the structural integrity of bridges on state, federal and county roads. Officials with Union Pacific Railroad are checking railroad tracks and bridges in the area. The National Resource Conservation is sending officials from Waco to check the dam at Lake Naconiche. The Texas State Historical Association cites a 80-kilometer segment of the Mount Enterprise fault system which caused earthquakes in 1891 and 1981, in Rusk and Center and Jacksonville, respectively. Another series of moderate earthquakes hit Sabine County on April 23, 1964. According to the USGS, Hemphill was near the epicenter of the 4.4 magnitude earthquake. Aftershocks were reported in Pineland, Hemphill, and Milam. Cracked wallpaper and plaster were the only damage reported. More tremors, reaching 4.2 in magnitude, were reported in May, June, and August of that year. In 1957, several shocks were reported at 4.7 in magnitude in the Gladewater area in Northeast Texas. - KSLA.
