Nacogdoches - Historical Events
4.8 E a r t h Q u a k e ! -- Felt in Nacogdoches
What is going on in East Texas? How many more earthquakes will fracking cause? At approximately 3:08 am. on May 17, 2012 a 4.8 magnitude quake struck East Texas centered around Timpson, Texas and was firmly felt as far away as Nacogdoches.[1] The low-frequency lateral movement produced by the quake startled many from sleep leaving them wondering how many more will be caused by the fracking operations by gas companies in the area -- and how large will the earthquakes get?
Did you feel this earthquake? If so, please tell the United States Geological Survey (USGS) about it. They have prepared a short form for you to fill out. You can access it here: USGS May 17, 2012 Earthquake Survey.
There have only been two small quakes recorded historicaly for central East Texas, March 19, 1957 and April 23-28, 1964. These two earlier quakes were between 3.7-4.4 in magnitude. East Texas has now experienced two significant quakes in the past seven days (3.9 magnitude on May 10 at 10:15 am CDT and 4.3 magnitude on May 17 at 3:08 am CDT). Moreover, looking at the USGS seismicity records from 1900 to the present shows no recorded activity in the East Texas area depicted on the USGS Seismicity Map. Only a single west Texas quake is officially recorded for the state according to the United States Geological Survery's Historic United States Earthquakes with records dating back to the 1727 quake in Massachusetts.
