Almost 100 Earthquakes Have Happened in West Texas in 1 Week

West Texas has been shaking a lot this past week! In fact, the people of Snyder, Texas have experienced 91 earthquakes in the past 7 days. Including a 5.1 that was recorded on Friday, which is considered 'strong' for Texas. According to cbsnews.com, the earthquakes have registered from 1.5 - 5.1 on the Richter scale. Snyder and Scurry county are under disaster declarations from the quakes. Various damage has been reported from cracked wall, ceilings, and foundation cracks.

Get the latest earthquake information by clicking here.

Back in November of 2023, a magnitude 5.3 earthquake was reported in west Texas. As reported by the U.S. The strongest earthquake to ever hit Texas was a 6.0 magnitude quake that struck near Valentine, Texas on Aug. 16, 1931.

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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Source: Almost 100 Earthquakes Have Happened in West Texas in 1 Week

Categories: Victoria News