A series of three minor earthquakes shook homes across northern Texas Saturday and Sunday night, the United States Geological Survey is reporting.
According to the USGS , the latest quake, a 2.1 magnitude temblor recorded at 10:41 pm Sunday, occurred in Irving, Texas, about 25 minutes west of Dallas. There were no reports of injuries or major damage.
On Saturday, a 3.4 quake occurred at 11:05 pm about two miles north of Irving, according to the USGS. Survey geophysicist Randy Baldwin said the initial quake lasted several seconds and appeared strong enough to be felt up to 15 or 20 miles away.
The 3.5 temblor was followed by a second earthquake with a 3.1 magnitude about seven miles west of Dallas.
While new studies claim that fracking or gas drilling are responsible for some small earthquakes in Texas , SMU professor Brian Stump told NBC that he doesn’t believe that is the case in this series of quakes.
“In central part of the United States where we’re not in a big plate boundary, there are faults, those faults to relieve stress occasionally and I think that’s what happened,” he said. “We still need to study to quantify the relationship.”
Following the trio of earthquakes in the Dallas-Fort Worth region over the weekend, residents flooded the area’s emergency centers with calls to report damages.
Emergency official Pat McMacken noted that some people reported such minor damage as cracks in some walls and a ceiling and pictures knocked down as well as a report of a possible gas leak.
City officials said they were still following up on the various reports early Sunday.
CBS News has more information on the three north Texas earthquakes in the video below:
