Earthquake

Magnitude 4.7 Earthquake in West Texas Felt Hundreds of Miles Away

USGS

A magnitude 4.7 earthquake rattled rural West Texas early Thursday morning, the United States Geological Service says.

The earthquake, initially reported as a preliminary magnitude 4.3 and later upgraded to 4.7, was recorded around 4:30 a.m. about 10 miles to the northeast of Hermleigh and 15 miles east of Snyder, along the borders of Scurry and Fisher counties, the USGS said.

Local media reported residents near the epicenter felt their houses shake and had items fall off their walls.

"Ok I think it’s safe to say I have now experienced my 2nd earthquake in my life and I never would have thought I’d feel one in Dallas," one Twitter user wrote.

"Here in Denton I woke up at 4:30 am to some slight shaking, never experienced any kind of earthquake before this. I bet most people just slept through it," another user tweeted.

Just hours earlier, people across South Texas reported feeling their homes shake and loud booms from what authorities believe was possibly a meteor smashing to the ground.

Hidalgo County Sheriff Eddie Guerra said Houston Air Traffic Control received reports from two aircraft pilots who reported seeing a meteor in the sky west of the McAllen-Mission area.

In November, a magnitude 5.4 earthquake hit West Texas and caused damage to buildings as far away as San Antonio. It was the third largest earthquake to ever hit the state.

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