Earthquake felt in East Texas county Tuesday

An earthquake shook the grounds of an East Texas county Tuesday afternoon.

The event was reported in Nacogdoches County, approximately 3 miles south-southwest of Chireno, around 5:17 p.m. The U.S. Geological Survey lists its magnitude as 3.0, with a shallow depth of 7.6 kilometers.

People in Nacogdoches and Tyler reported feeling the impact to the USGS. No damage has been found.

When was the last big earthquake in Texas?

In November 2023, a 5.2 magnitude earthquake shook West Texas. The earthquake happened about 4.27 a.m. local time nearly 24 miles southwest of Mentone, a town near the Texas-New Mexico border, about 57 miles southwest of Carlsbad, New Mexico, and 200 miles east of El Paso. The area known as the Delaware Basin is the center of oil extraction in Texas, and it has seen hundreds of small quakes since 2017, according to Texas state records.

According to the USGS, that earthquake hit at a depth of 7.4 kilometers and some strong shaking could be felt in the immediate area. The National Weather Service office in El Paso said workers felt the earthquake in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, which is about 215 miles west of Mentone.

Are earthquakes in Texas increasing?

Earthquakes in Texas have been increasing for years because oil and gas drilling and extraction have been increasing.

Last year, there were more magnitude 2.5-plus quakes in Texas than in California, according to Texas officials.

In 2023, there were 591 magnitude 2.5-plus quakes in Texas, compared with 207 in all of 2019. State officials in 2017 stepped up quake monitoring.

A 2022 report by the University of Texas concluded that 68% of Texas quakes above magnitude 1.5 were “highly associated” with oil and gas production.

Are there any major fault lines in Texas?

Yes. The Balcones Fault extends from the DallasFort Worth region southward through Waco, Temple, Austin and westward through San Antonio to Del Rio.

The fault line parallels the path Interstate 35 takes through Central Texas.