Texas safe when it comes to earthquakes

COLLEGE STATION—Although at least six minor earthquakes have been recorded recently in the northern part of the state this year, Texas remains one of the safer areas of the country when it comes to major quakes, says a Texas A&M University geosciences professor.

 

Fred Chester, professor of geosciences who studies earthquakes and fault mechanics, says the November quakes measured in the 2.5 to 3.0 range on the Richter scale

“Quakes that small might be felt by some people, but most folks are never aware of a quake that size until someone tells them it was officially recorded,” he notes.

 

“The aftershocks can last for a week or more, but the magnitude and frequency of aftershocks becomes smaller and smaller with time,” Chester adds.

 

“Texas seems to get its share of other natural disasters, such as tornadoes and hurricanes, floods and wildfires, but when it comes to earthquakes, we don’t have as much to worry about,” the Texas A&M geoscientist assures.

 

Chester says the state will experience a larger earthquake – a magnitude 5 or 6 – every 50 to 100 years or so, but smaller-magnitude earthquakes occur more frequently.

 

“In Alpine, in far West Texas, there was a magnitude 5.7 quake in 1995,” he notes.

“There is a distinct zone of active faulting that runs along the Texas-Mexico border from El Paso to Big Bend.”

 

Chester says that aside from West Texas and the Panhandle regions, the earthquake hazard is probably greatest from faults outside of the state, such as the Missouri-Tennessee area. Although there are numerous active faults southeast of Interstate 35 from Dallas to San Antonio , these faults tend to produce only smaller earthquakes, he adds.

 

He recommends that anyone interested in current data about earthquakes visit http://earthquake.usgs.gov, a website run by the U.S. Geological Survey that provides historical and real-time information about earthquakes all over the world.