Texas
Earthquake History
continued from page 1
man, Texas, heavy machinery vibrated, bricks were thrown from chimneys, and movable objects overturned.
A May 3, 1887, earthquake in Sonora, Mexico, caused damage at Bavispe and was felt strongly in parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. The epicenter was in the Sierra Madre Occidental Range.
On Jan. 8, 1891, violent shaking of buildings and a few toppled chimneys were reported from Rusk, Texas. These effects were evaluated as intensity VII, although other towns in eastern Texas along a northeast-southwest line through Rusk experienced torna-does and sudden, violent wind storms producing effects similar to, and in some cases more damaging than, those in Rusk.
A locally damaging earthquake occurred at Panhandle, Texas, on March 28, 1917. Some cracked plaster was reported, and children were evacuated from a school building (VI).
Another disturbance occurred in the
area on July 30, 1925. There were
three distinct shocks over a period of
15 seconds. Major problems were the
shaking of dishes from shelves and
rattling and creaking of furniture (V).
The shocks were felt over an area of
approximately 518,000 square kilo-
meters including distant points such as Roswell, New Mexico, 350 kilometers away; Tulsa, Oklahoma, 480 kilometers away; and Leavenworth, Kansas, 640 kilometers away.
The 1931 western Texas earthquake
heavily damaged many buildings at
Valentine. Also, many chimneys fell
(VIII). The shock occurred at 5:40
a.m. on August 16; although people
were panic stricken, there were no
fatalities and only a few minor inju-
ries from falling adobe. Adobe build-
ings suffered most, and cement and
brick walls in many places were badly
cracked. Even though Valentine bore
the brunt of the shock, damage was
reported from widely scattered points
in Brewster, Culberson, Jeff Davis,
and Presidio Counties. Cracked walls
and damaged chimneys were reported
from several towns. The total felt area
covered about 647,000 square kilo-
meters in Texas and New Mexico and
an estimated 518,000 square kilome-
ters in Mexico. The earthquake was
accompanied by rumbling subterra-
nean sounds heard over practically the
entire affected area. The shock, mea-
sured at magnitude 6.4, was strongly
recorded on all seismographs in North
America and at stations all over the
world. Numerous aftershocks were felt
in the epicentral region; the strongest,
on August 18, was intensity V at Al-
pine, Lobo, Pecos, and Valentine and
intensity IV at Carlsbad, New Mexico.
A minor aftershock was felt at Valen-
tine on Nov. 3.
Slight damage resulted from an earthquake in the Mexia-Wortham area on April 9, 1932. Loose bricks were thrown down, and some plaster cracked (V-VI). The shock was also felt at Coolidge, Currie, Groesbeck, Hillsboro, Teague, and Richland.
A moderate earthquake affected an area of about 7700 square kilometers in northeastern Texas and an adjoining portion of Oklahoma on April 11, 1934. The tremor was most distinctly felt at Arthur City, Caviness, Chicota, Powderly, and Trout Switch (intensity V). Many persons who felt the shock reported having heard a roaring or rumbling noise. Two shocks were recognized by many observers.
References:
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