Group From Azle Takes Earthquake Concerns to Austin

A group of people from the Azle area will be in Austin Tuesday morning to attend a meeting on earthquakes with the Texas Railroad Commission.

After months of dealing with the out-of-the-ordinary quakes, Azle-area residents are bringing their concerns to the state capital. 

"People are afraid," said Lynda Stokes, the Mayor of Reno.

Since November, there have been more than 20 earthquakes in, or near, the city of Azle.  The most recently quake, the 24th for the area, occurred on Jan. 13(Click here to see a Google map pinpointing all Northern Texas earthquakes recorded by the USGS since Nov., 2013.)

Many people in the area have reported property damage, including cracked walls and sinkholes.

In early January, representatives from the Texas Railroad Commission, the group that regulates drilling, attended a meeting in Azle to discuss the earthquakes. More than 800 people showed up, many of whom upset that the panel didn’t take questions.

After the meeting The Texas Railroad Commission declared they would hire a seismologist, but many people near Azle were not satisfied with that response.

“While they are doing the study, we are paying the price,” Stokes said.

Last week, Azle residents decided to put together a bus trip to Austin to address the Texas Railroad Commission at its meeting.

“I am hoping they will realize that we are much more aware of what is going on up here than they think we are,” added Stokes.

The bus to Austin was expected to depart at 5 a.m. Tuesday. 

NBC 5's Julie Fine is in Austin and will update this story Tuesday as necessary.

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