Could fracking have contributed to recent Scurry county earthquakes, including one of largest in Texas history?

SCURRY COUNTY, Texas ( KTAB/KRBC )- A series of at least 5 earthquakes hit the eastern Scurry County Line on Monday night and into Tuesday morning, the largest of which rated at a magnitude 4.9 by the U.S. Geological survey(USGS) . That organization claims minor to major property damage can result at magnitudes of 5.0 and above. While this was one of the most powerful quakes in Texas history , no major damage was reported. Hardin Simmons University Adjunct Professor of Geology Moira Plantier says that falls in line with current research suggestions.

“So a little bit of shaking. . . it may have knocked some things off of shelves or walls perhaps…It was nothing terribly destructive, but it may have woken a few people up,” Plantier told KTAB/KRBC.

Some waking from their sleep and many others yet to get to bed feeling those rumbles from Lubbock all the way to just east of Abilene. Snyder Resident Gus Vasquez says he had just gotten home from work when the first and largest quake could be felt.

“I was eating crackers at my kitchen table, saw the cat was running to me and the whole house just started shaking. . .after the first one I went in my room and started playing my game and then I felt the second one,” Vasquez said.

Getting closer to the quakes epicenter, those tremors become more powerful. Hermleigh residents like Naomi Meador were just 10 miles from the earthquake cluster. Meador says she’s experienced these events before having once lived in California comparing Monday night’s quake to a train passing right by her front porch.

“[I was thinking] What do I do? Do I stay? Do I get in the doorway? There’s too many factors running through your mind…It really feels like you’re on a boat…Rattling in the cabinets. . . your picture frames are kinda like jostling on the walls,” Meador said.

Quakes of such magnitude are uncommon across Texas and while no direct link has been found, some Geo-Science experts are looking to the impact of fracking and other human geological interference, which are prevalent in the Scurry County-Midland area, as a possible contributing factor.

“I believe 100% the earthquakes that are happening out here have every bit to do with fracking,” said Meador.

With the area from Snyder west toward Midland and Pecos one of the largest fracking and oil harvesting areas in the state, Plantier says that current research does not definitively prove a correlation, though some of the data does line up.

“Over the past few years especially the USGS notes that there has been an increase in human induced earthquake activity throughout west Texas if you look throughout the Midland basin.” Plantier said.

Those recorded quakes rarely rating above a magnitude 3.0 but the correlation with heavy drilling suggests that the activity could be contributing to the frequency or at least severity of the quakes.

INTERACTIVE MAP OF ACTIVE DRILLING SITES IN TEXAS

While the exact cause isn’t certain, Meador says the potential aftermath is reason enough to be educated and prepared no matter where you live.

“I’ve moved 58 times all over the U.S….It doesn’t matter where you are ‘God’ can still come to your front door and meet ya.” Said Meador.

Plantier encourages anyone who felt tremors from the Monday night-Tuesday morning earthquakes to log their experience and location on the USGS “Did you feel it” database . That information helping researchers better understand the impact, reach, and potentially origin of the events.

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