The U.S. Geological Survey stated that a rare powerful earthquake struck Midland, Texas, on Monday evening, resulting in over 1,000 reports of shaking.
The temblor, initially assessed at magnitude 5.1, struck at 7:49 p.m. at a depth of around 5 miles below the surface, approximately 21 miles west-southwest of Ackerly, according to the agency.
There were no injuries initially reported.
The USGS received over 1,400 reports of shaking. People as far away as Fort Worth (282 miles east) and Austin (322 miles southeast) reported feeling the earthquake.
The USGS stated in a description of the region’s current geologic activity that temblors east of the Rocky Mountains are felt for longer distances and do greater damage, even if they have identical magnitude ratings.
“Earthquakes east of the Rockies that are centered in populated areas and large enough to cause damage are, similarly, likely to cause damage out to greater distances than earthquakes of the same magnitude centered in western North America,” according to the report.
Ackerly is approximately 60 miles north of Midland. The area is well-known for fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, which involves injecting high-pressure water into the ground to recover oil.
“There is evidence that some central and eastern North America earthquakes have been triggered or caused by human activities that have altered the stress conditions in earth’s crust sufficiently to induce faulting,” the United States Geological Survey stated in its assessment of the region.
However, no relationship between fracking and the earthquake on Monday has been proven.
According to the USGS, fracking is responsible for just a small number of earthquakes, with wastewater disposal accounting for the majority.
