NEWS DESK
WASHINGTON: A 5.4 magnitude earthquake rattled buildings but did not appear to cause any damage in a region of west Texas that produces oil, told US authorities.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said that the earthquake struck around 5:35 p.m. local time (23:35 GMT) at a depth of roughly eight kilometers, 22 kilometers (12 miles) northwest of Midland.
Three minutes after the initial tremor, a considerably lesser one with a magnitude of 3.3 was felt, according to the USGS.
Texas National Weather Service
The National Weather Service’s Midland branch tweeted that this earthquake would rank as the fourth-strongest in Texas state history.
Geographic Area of Oil Rich Texas
According to Jacob Riley, a meteorologist at Lubbock television station KLBK, the earthquake, while minor, was felt over a significant area, from as far north as Lubbock, near the Texas Panhandle, to Odessa, 20 miles southwest of Midland.
Exactly one month before Friday’s quake, a slightly weaker earthquake struck the Pecos region in west Texas, just south of the New Mexico border. There was no harm done.
