An unexpected spike in earthquake activity shakes residents in South Texas

FALLS CITY, Texas — From small vibrations to picture frames falling off the walls, thousands of South Texas residents felt the quake in the early hours of Saturday morning.

It was one of the largest disasters our region has seen in years – a magnitude of 4.7.

This followed a series of small earthquakes yesterday, and continued a busy month of seismic activity in the region. Some reports show dozens near Falls City in February alone.

But questions remain about why they occur, and whether high levels of seismic activity will continue.

Eric Casarez and his family live in Karnes, between five and eight miles from the epicenter.

He was sitting in his chair at about 12:30 a.m. when the 4.7 magnitude quake began.

Casarez recounts that his chair began shaking, his daughter reported the windows shaking, and several members of his extended family in the area reported shaking as well.

“Facebook in our area, I mean everyone was chiming in,” Casarez said. “This is the longest feeling I've ever felt in my life.”

He says they lasted several seconds longer than smaller earthquakes in recent days.

“Is it abnormal for the area you live in to experience such a large earthquake?” asked the elder Jordan.

“If we get a small one and it's just a stand-alone, weeks apart, we don't talk about it anymore. We just kind of get used to it,” Casarez said. “4.7, yeah, that made me a little nervous.”

The shock of that quake was felt all the way in San Antonio, but reports reached the United States Geological Survey, or USGS, from Austin and Round Rock as well.

Frank Jacobs had felt earthquakes before when he traveled to California.

“Not just in my bed, in San Antonio, at 12:30,” he laughed.

He was watching a movie when he felt the first vibration. At first, he thought he was just imagining things.

“Ten minutes later, when the quake hit with greater force, I knew immediately it was an earthquake,” Jacobs said.

Dawson Williamson also felt for Southwest San Antonio.

He says he thought his dog was hitting his bed, but later realized it was an earthquake.

“There was quite a lot of shaking. And I said, 'Well, that's not normal,'” Williamson said. “The dogs next door started barking.”

Since there have been more than two dozen small earthquakes in the area already this month, we asked our meteorologist, Joe DiCarlo, what might be causing these quakes.

“It is important to note that earthquakes of this magnitude have been occurring in this region for several decades. But as oil and gas production continues, water in and out of the Earth will soften the geological material underneath, and this causes some shifting of the Earth, which could cause “Some of this seismic activity will increase over the next few decades.”

The USGS is the primary agency responsible for collecting earthquake data.

They usually investigate the cause of earthquakes and determine whether they are natural and plates are moving far underground, or whether the earthquakes are related to human activity such as hydraulic fracturing.

Falls City is located in the Eagle Ford Shale region, known for gas and oil production.

But the area is also located near two fault lines: Luling and Balcones. This can lead to natural earthquakes when plates move underground.

It is too early to know what caused the earthquake that occurred on Saturday morning, but we know that no damage or injuries have been reported.

DiCarlo says there is a possibility these earthquakes will continue to recur, but experts he spoke with say their intensity will remain largely the same.

Casarez says he just hopes it will be a while before there is another one as big as 4.7.

“Everyone is kind of paying attention,” Casarez said. “Everyone felt it. I've seen some people say they kind of have little anxiety attacks and stuff like that.”

You can report your earthquake experience to the USGS here.

You can tell us about your experience on our Facebook page.

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